Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,639 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $33,000. First PREMIER Bank boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 592.9% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $0.99 on Tuesday, reaching $178.47. 2,275,706 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,127,997. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.22 billion, a PE ratio of 20.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The company’s 50 day moving average is $174.65 and its 200-day moving average is $194.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $148.24 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $220.29.

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.