Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC Has $301,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC reduced its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,849 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 93 shares during the quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $301,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,327,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,439 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $340,895,000 after purchasing an additional 164,085 shares during the period. WoodTrust Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 47.0% during the third quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 67,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $13,722,000 after purchasing an additional 21,699 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $230,158,000 after purchasing an additional 15,183 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 62.6% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,698,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $343,138,000 after acquiring an additional 653,739 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $184.27 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $158.96 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $175.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $184.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.00.

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.