Triangle Securities Wealth Management Reduces Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Triangle Securities Wealth Management cut its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,574 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 222 shares during the quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,327,707,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509,439 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $340,895,000 after purchasing an additional 164,085 shares in the last quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 47.0% in the third quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 67,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,722,000 after acquiring an additional 21,699 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $230,158,000 after acquiring an additional 15,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,698,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $343,138,000 after acquiring an additional 653,739 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.0 %

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $192.05 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $156.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $173.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $191.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.78 and a 52 week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price objective (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target 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, November 29th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.95.

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.