Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC Has $1.80 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,086 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 325 shares during the quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $245,000. Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 140.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 5,553 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,310,000 after acquiring an additional 3,245 shares in the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $362,000. Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $855,000. Finally, Ecofi Investissements SA acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $11,265,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.71.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $173.14 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $140.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $158.96 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $174.00 and its 200 day moving average is $188.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is currently 18.58%.

Applied Materials Company 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.