AdvisorNet Financial Inc Lowers Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

AdvisorNet Financial Inc lowered its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 41.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,933 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 1,343 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $314,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $1,340,000. Argent Trust Co raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 28.4% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 12,119 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,860,000 after acquiring an additional 2,682 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 81,088 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $19,136,000 after acquiring an additional 1,977 shares during the period. Waterloo Capital L.P. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $318,000. Finally, Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 57.8% during the second quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 677 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $217.41.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded up $5.57 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $192.05. The stock had a trading volume of 8,099,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,431,350. The company has a market capitalization of $156.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53. 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 12-month low of $156.78 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $173.10 and a 200-day moving average of $191.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 0.83%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 18.58%.

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.