Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Delta Financial Advisors LLC

Delta Financial Advisors LLC lessened its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,777 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 81 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up about 2.1% of Delta Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Delta Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $857,615,000 after acquiring an additional 108,827 shares in the last quarter. FCG Investment Co acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,094,000. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 16.1% in the third quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,725 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE now owns 51,272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $10,360,000 after purchasing an additional 7,094 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped 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. Susquehanna increased their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock opened at $168.57 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $158.96 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $175.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $183.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 20.92%.

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.