Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Alta Wealth Advisors LLC

Alta Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,514 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 90 shares during the quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 51.0% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 11,812 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,788,000 after buying an additional 3,990 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $13,521,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 16.7% during the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 15,405 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,635,000 after purchasing an additional 2,205 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 24.9% in the 2nd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 3,172 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $749,000 after buying an additional 633 shares during the period. Finally, Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC now owns 16,904 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,989,000 after buying an additional 1,564 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $181.72 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $147.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $158.96 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $174.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $187.55.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.71.

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.