Sigma Planning Corp Cuts Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sigma Planning Corp cut its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 55.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,828 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 4,738 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $620,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 76.9% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 333.8% during the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 295 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. L2 Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 795.0% during the third quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 29,606 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 26,298 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. B. Riley upped their price target on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.50.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $196.06 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.15 and a 1 year high of $214.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.07, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.59. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $203.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.93.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.82%.

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.