Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Acquired by Davidson Capital Management Inc.

Davidson Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 39,811.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,960 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,915 shares during the period. Davidson Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 60.8% during the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 608 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 22.3% during the third quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 11,935 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,414,000 after purchasing an additional 2,175 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 63.4% during the third quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. CX Institutional boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 344.7% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 20,945 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,232,000 after purchasing an additional 16,235 shares during the period. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 7,013 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $183.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $175.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.04. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $158.96 and a twelve month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.00.

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.