Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Bought by Byrne Asset Management LLC

Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,883 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for about 1.0% of Byrne Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Byrne Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Opinicus Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Opinicus Capital Inc. now owns 7,715 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,255,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Unison Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Unison Asset Management LLC now owns 31,151 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,066,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 2,060 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 41.1% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 209,771 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $34,115,000 after purchasing an additional 61,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,092 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $503,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $180.00 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $175.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.86. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $158.96 and a 52 week high of $255.89. 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 has a market cap of $146.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price target (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.71.

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.