Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Bought by Advisory Alpha LLC

Advisory Alpha LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,953 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,781,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in Applied Materials by 0.6% in the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,847,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.0% in the third quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. waypoint wealth counsel raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. waypoint wealth counsel now owns 1,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 4,259 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $860,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.95.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $192.87 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $173.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $190.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $158.96 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.94 billion, a PE ratio of 22.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued 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 yield of 0.83%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

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.