ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC Cuts Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,784 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 147 shares during the period. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 47.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,480,780 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $343,464,000 after acquiring an additional 793,610 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,724,217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $441,514,000 after buying an additional 778,716 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Applied Materials by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,995,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,383,848,000 after buying an additional 570,080 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 13,929.6% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 515,028 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $834,710,000 after acquiring an additional 511,357 shares during the period. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 117.6% during the third quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 926,917 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $128,341,000 after acquiring an additional 500,900 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $6.18 during trading on Friday, reaching $204.09. 3,818,510 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,695,384. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $111.72 and a 52-week high of $214.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.58. The business’s fifty day moving average is $203.89 and its 200-day moving average is $173.57.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. B. Riley boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.50.

Applied Materials 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.