Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC Sells 271 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 15.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,454 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 271 shares during the quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. First PREMIER Bank boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.71.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.0 %

AMAT stock opened at $171.65 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $193.18. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $148.48 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.94, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS 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 company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.58%.

Applied Materials Company 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.