Bard Financial Services Inc. Increases Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Bard Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 57,280 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for about 1.1% of Bard Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $9,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 592.9% in the 3rd 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT traded up $8.69 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $178.75. The stock had a trading volume of 4,544,314 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,758,643. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $148.24 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The company has a market capitalization of $145.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $174.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $194.66.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on AMAT. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group cut their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $220.29.

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.