Delta Financial Advisors LLC Sells 81 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Delta Financial Advisors LLC lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 34,777 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 81 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 2.1% of Delta Financial Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Delta Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 168,794 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $27,451,000 after acquiring an additional 34,316 shares during the period. FourThought Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 34,599 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,627,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC now owns 16,953 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,757,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 30.2% during the 4th quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 8,808 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,432,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $168.57 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $137.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $158.96 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $183.74.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 20.92%.

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.