Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Grows Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,043 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,920 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. First PREMIER Bank grew its position in Applied Materials by 326.3% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 592.9% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 61.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $186.75 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 twelve month low of $158.96 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $174.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $189.50. The stock has a market cap of $151.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.69, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Barclays cut their price objective 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. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.71.

About Applied Materials

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.