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

Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC cut its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 82.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,548 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 7,500 shares during the period. Encompass Wealth Advisors 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. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. First PREMIER Bank boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 326.3% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. 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 report on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. 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 Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $182.80 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $158.96 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $174.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.88. The stock has a market cap of $148.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.23, a PEG ratio of 1.84 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Applied Materials 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.