Kovack Advisors Inc. Sells 12,205 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Kovack Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 81.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,748 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 12,205 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Aldebaran Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $211,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $7,274,000. Sycomore Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 33,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,437,000 after acquiring an additional 11,825 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 37,821 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,130,000 after acquiring an additional 6,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 132.7% in the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,704 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,707,000 after acquiring an additional 9,527 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $220.00 to $260.00 in a report on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. B. Riley boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.0 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $203.38 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $168.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $203.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $171.98. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $109.15 and a 12 month high of $214.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.82%.

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.