Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC Has $952,000 Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 64.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,854 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 10,445 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $952,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 140.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 5,553 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,310,000 after purchasing an additional 3,245 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $362,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $122,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 15.0% in the 2nd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 883 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 10,173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,401,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $172.85 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $158.96 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a 50 day moving average of $174.07 and a 200-day moving average of $188.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price target (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research 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.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.71.

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.