Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC Has $301,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,849 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 93 shares during the quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,808,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,841,178,000 after buying an additional 672,548 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,826,373 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,994,968,000 after purchasing an additional 371,866 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,413,112 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,316,269,000 after purchasing an additional 858,122 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,861,933 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,790,554,000 after purchasing an additional 318,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,327,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,439 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.00.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $184.27 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 $149.76 billion, a PE ratio of 21.40, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53. The company’s 50-day moving average is $175.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.85.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors 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 0.87%. Applied Materials’s dividend 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.