Alpha Cubed Investments LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Alpha Cubed Investments LLC reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,390 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 98 shares during the quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,039,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 13,125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,135,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 138.8% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 154,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $25,121,000 after acquiring an additional 89,791 shares during the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 4,094 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $666,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,965 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sky Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $458,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.0 %

AMAT opened at $192.05 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $173.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $190.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $156.78 and a twelve month high of $255.89. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on AMAT. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.95.

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.