Darwin Wealth Management LLC Sells 229 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Darwin Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,542 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 229 shares during the quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. boosted 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 valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 795.0% in the 3rd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 29,606 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 26,298 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Highlander Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 60.0% in the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 320 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.5 %

AMAT stock traded down $1.03 during trading on Thursday, hitting $206.33. 2,758,180 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,869,017. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.27, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.58. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $204.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $113.91 and a 1 year high of $214.91.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $220.00 to $260.00 in a report on Monday, April 8th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials 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.