Financial Security Advisor Inc. Sells 97 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Financial Security Advisor Inc. lessened its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,317 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 97 shares during the period. Financial Security Advisor Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 16,068 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,613,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,825 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,761,000 after acquiring an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 23,650 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,846,000 after acquiring an additional 9,100 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 229.9% in the fourth quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 10,076 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 7,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC now owns 6,044 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 2,497 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials Trading Down 7.0 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $156.67 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $156.38 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The business’s fifty day moving average is $175.49 and its 200 day moving average is $183.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $127.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.92%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.