11,526 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Bought by Empirical Asset Management LLC

Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 11,526 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,874,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.5% during the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 81,088 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $19,136,000 after purchasing an additional 1,977 shares during the period. Waterloo Capital L.P. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $318,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 33.1% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,231 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,886,000 after purchasing an additional 3,042 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 82,192 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $19,396,000 after buying an additional 4,588 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 11,927 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,815,000 after buying an additional 1,549 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $192.05 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.78 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $173.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $191.61. The firm has a market cap of $156.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price target (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.41.

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.