Silver Lake Advisory LLC Has $4.48 Million Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Silver Lake Advisory LLC trimmed its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,540 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 315 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for about 2.0% of Silver Lake Advisory LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Silver Lake Advisory LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,490,874 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $351,831,000 after acquiring an additional 117,793 shares during the period. APG Asset Management US Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. now owns 259,548 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $61,619,000 after purchasing an additional 5,488 shares during the last quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 3,001 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $708,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the period. DSM Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 35.1% in the 2nd quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC now owns 381 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $245,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.71.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $190.70 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $173.55 and a 200-day moving average of $189.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $158.96 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $155.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The firm 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

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.