Sound Income Strategies LLC Sells 89 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sound Income Strategies LLC decreased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 25.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 255 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 89 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $42,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 5,996 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $975,000 after buying an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 271.9% during the 4th quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 20,698 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,387,000 after acquiring an additional 15,133 shares during the period. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 83.9% in the 4th quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 7,702 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,253,000 after purchasing an additional 3,513 shares in the last quarter. Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC now owns 17,161 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,791,000 after purchasing an additional 2,165 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,631 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $186.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $158.96 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $174.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $189.50.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued 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 yield of 0.86%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective 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. Barclays dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.