Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 259 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,576 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 259 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. First PREMIER Bank grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 592.9% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.71.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $182.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $158.96 and a one year high of $255.89. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $174.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.56 billion, a PE ratio of 21.23, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

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.