GAMMA Investing LLC Sells 279 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

GAMMA Investing LLC lowered its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,860 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 279 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. Lantz Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $212,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 220.7% during the second quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,182 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,223,000 after acquiring an additional 3,566 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 38.8% in the second quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 4,409 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,232 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $225,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.3% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,123,931 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $265,236,000 after purchasing an additional 35,415 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.8 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $170.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $148.05 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $175.13 and its 200-day moving average is $195.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.52.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 0.94%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. UBS Group cut their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $220.29.

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.