Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Woodward Diversified Capital LLC

Woodward Diversified Capital LLC lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 46.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,316 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,138 shares during the period. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,943,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $700,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its position in Applied Materials by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 62,135 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,105,000 after acquiring an additional 2,910 shares in the last quarter. William Allan Corp raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 48,568 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,899,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 100,371 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $16,323,000 after purchasing an additional 7,113 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped 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. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.71.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $180.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $158.96 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $146.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.53. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $175.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.86.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its 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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.