Signet Financial Management LLC Sells 197 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Signet Financial Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,028 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 197 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 0.8% of Signet Financial Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Signet Financial Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 12,522 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,036,000 after buying an additional 652 shares during the period. Sunflower Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 2,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,153 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,163,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 120,742 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $19,636,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 4,906 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $798,000 after buying an additional 582 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $0.79 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $170.86. 5,461,953 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,008,178. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $173.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $192.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.84 and a 12 month high of $255.89. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced 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 analysts’ expectations 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 was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.24.

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.