DGS Capital Management LLC Has $1.21 Million Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

DGS Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,462 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 209 shares during the quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pflug Koory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 22,982 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,738,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Nepsis Inc. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 79.5% during the 4th quarter. Nepsis Inc. now owns 146,994 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $23,906,000 after acquiring an additional 65,086 shares in the last quarter. Cottonwood Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $272,000. CX Institutional lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 49.9% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 31,404 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,107,000 after purchasing an additional 10,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $166,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.1 %

AMAT opened at $186.75 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $158.96 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The business has a 50 day moving average of $173.64 and a 200-day moving average of $189.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given 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 0.86%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.71.

About 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.