1,311 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Purchased by Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC

Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,311 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JGP Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,821 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $459,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Beech Hill Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Beech Hill Advisors Inc. now owns 36,198 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,887,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 41,628 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,770,000 after purchasing an additional 8,835 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $339,000. Finally, Burney Co. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 55,620 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,045,000 after buying an additional 979 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $192.05 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $173.10 and a 200-day moving average of $191.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $156.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.78 and a 1-year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.41.

Applied Materials 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.