Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Holdings Lessened by Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC

Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 64.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,854 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 10,445 shares during the quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $952,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 140.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 5,553 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,310,000 after purchasing an additional 3,245 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $362,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $122,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 883 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 10,173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,401,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $172.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The company has a market capitalization of $140.64 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $158.96 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $174.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $188.14.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AMAT. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.71.

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.