Latitude Advisors LLC Sells 75 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Latitude Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Latitude Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 592.9% during the third 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 in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 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 own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $183.66 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $158.96 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $175.19 and a 200-day moving average of $185.17. The company has a market cap of $149.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly 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 for 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. On average, equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.71.

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.