Sonen Capital LLC Sells 970 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sonen Capital LLC decreased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 970 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises 2.8% of Sonen Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Sonen Capital LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,467,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 333.8% during the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 295 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 795.0% during the third quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 29,606 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 26,298 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $203.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $203.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.77. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.15 and a 52-week high of $214.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.93, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.59.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The firm had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 15.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Monday, April 8th. B. Riley increased their target price on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.50.

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.