Sunpointe LLC Has $252,000 Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sunpointe LLC cut its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 17.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,551 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 335 shares during the period. Sunpointe LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $857,615,000 after acquiring an additional 108,827 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,771 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,166,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. Vicus Capital acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $290,000. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 6.8% during the third quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 25,897 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 12.5% in the third quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 59,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $11,966,000 after buying an additional 6,574 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Susquehanna boosted 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. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $174.06 on Thursday. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $175.39 and its 200-day moving average is $184.05. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $158.96 and a one year high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $141.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.39 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 20.92%.

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.