Salvus Wealth Management LLC Sells 80 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Salvus Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 9,013 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 80 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for about 0.9% of Salvus Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Salvus Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its position in Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 61.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 4.5 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $186.48 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 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. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $173.25 and its 200 day moving average is $191.65. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.20 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid 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 0.86%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on AMAT. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 target price (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.24.

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.