Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC lowered its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,175 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KG&L Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 42.7% during the fourth quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC now owns 15,206 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,473,000 after buying an additional 4,551 shares during the last quarter. Dohj LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Dohj LLC now owns 4,832 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 12,414 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144 shares during the period. Concord Asset Management LLC VA lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 12,072 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,963,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 34,650.0% during the fourth quarter. New Millennium Group LLC now owns 5,560 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $904,000 after purchasing an additional 5,544 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $180.35 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $146.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $174.48 and its 200 day moving average is $187.06. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $158.96 and a 1-year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America dropped 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 dropped their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.71.

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.