HB Wealth Management LLC Raises Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,457 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,480 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Forum Financial Management LP grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% in the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,847,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Merriman Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% in the second quarter. Merriman Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,438 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Sargent Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% in the third quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.3% in the third quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, waypoint wealth counsel lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.1% in the third quarter. waypoint wealth counsel now owns 1,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $192.05 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $173.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $190.95. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.78 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization 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 posted its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for 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%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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 payout ratio is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.95.

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.