Howard Capital Management Inc. Increases Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,419 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 789 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 592.9% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.3 %

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $171.98 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $175.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $183.86. The stock has a market cap of $139.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $158.96 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.92%.

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.