LVW Advisors LLC Sells 794 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

LVW Advisors LLC lessened its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 19.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,244 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 794 shares during the period. LVW Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% during the third quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. waypoint wealth counsel raised its position in Applied Materials by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. waypoint wealth counsel now owns 1,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 4,259 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $860,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $192.05 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $156.78 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $173.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $190.58. The firm has a market cap 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.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.95.

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.