44 Wealth Management LLC Sells 735 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

44 Wealth Management LLC cut its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,362 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 735 shares during the period. 44 Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,197,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Applied Materials by 2.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $857,615,000 after acquiring an additional 108,827 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at $209,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its position in Applied Materials by 10.8% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 14,586 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,947,000 after acquiring an additional 1,418 shares during the period. Global Trust Asset Management LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 1.7% in the third quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 11,927 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,410,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 592.9% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $171.98 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $175.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $183.92. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $158.96 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $139.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts expect 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 given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AMAT. Bank of America lowered their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 note on Monday, January 13th. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

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.