Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,043 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,920 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its stake 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 worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $186.75 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $174.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $189.50. The company has a market cap of $151.95 billion, a PE ratio of 21.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $158.96 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.71.

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.