Advisory Alpha LLC Acquires 287 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Advisory Alpha LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,953 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 124 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.95.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.4 %

AMAT opened at $192.87 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $173.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $190.22. The company has a market capitalization of $156.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.40, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $158.96 and a 52 week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

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.