Wealth Alliance Sells 97 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Wealth Alliance lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,803 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 97 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 203.6% during the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 41,039 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,674,000 after acquiring an additional 27,523 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 37,263 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,060,000 after acquiring an additional 6,365 shares in the last quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC now owns 2,402 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $391,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $589,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,125,014 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $182,961,000 after acquiring an additional 4,849 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.3 %

AMAT opened at $171.98 on Friday. 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 current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $175.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $183.92. The company has a market capitalization of $139.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.53.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price target (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.