DGS Capital Management LLC Sells 170 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

DGS Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,521 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 170 shares during the quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $895,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. grew its position in 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. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on AMAT. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $3.99 on Tuesday, hitting $209.67. 1,386,143 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,164,245. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $109.00 and a 12 month high of $214.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.59. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $200.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The business had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.48 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 15.06%.

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.