Elevated Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Elevated Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,153 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 266 shares during the quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $0.79 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $170.86. The stock had a trading volume of 5,436,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,685,905. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.84 and a 1 year 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. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.62.

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. 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 during 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.24.

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.