Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stake Cut by Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC

Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,639 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $220.29.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT traded up $0.99 on Tuesday, reaching $178.47. 2,275,706 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,127,997. The firm has a market cap of $145.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $148.24 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $174.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $194.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.