Wynn Capital LLC Acquires 95 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Wynn Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,943 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Wynn Capital LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 61.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.6 %

AMAT opened at $173.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $141.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $173.43 and its 200 day moving average is $191.74. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.84 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced 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 return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AMAT. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.24.

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.