Sonora Investment Management Group LLC Sells 120 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sonora Investment Management Group LLC lessened its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,244 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 120 shares during the quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,341,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 326.3% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 592.9% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. 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 report on Friday, January 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.71.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $181.72 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $147.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a PEG ratio of 1.99 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 fifty-two week low of $158.96 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $174.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $187.55.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. 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 firm posted $2.12 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Applied Materials Company 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.