Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 13.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,771 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 5,301 shares during the quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in Applied Materials by 0.6% during the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Biltmore Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.3% in the third quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank grew its position in Applied Materials by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 3,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners increased its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the third quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 4,259 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $860,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Shares of AMAT stock opened at $180.00 on Monday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $175.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $185.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $158.96 and a 1-year high of $255.89.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.
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 given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 18.58%.
A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. Mizuho lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $218.71.
Get Our Latest Report on Applied Materials
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.
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