Wealthspire Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Wealthspire Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,802 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 495 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $37,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 61.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.0 %

AMAT stock opened at $168.57 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $137.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $175.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $183.74. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $158.96 and a 52 week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

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.