Drive Wealth Management LLC Has $446,000 Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Drive Wealth Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 31.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,743 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,257 shares during the quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $245,000. Ascent Group LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 140.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 5,553 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,310,000 after buying an additional 3,245 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $362,000. Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $855,000. Finally, Ecofi Investissements SA acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,265,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho reduced their price objective 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. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. One research 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 MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.71.

Applied Materials Trading Down 6.5 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $174.57 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $158.96 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The business’s fifty day moving average is $174.00 and its 200-day moving average is $188.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

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.