Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by Arkadios Wealth Advisors

Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 17.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,588 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,543 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. First PREMIER Bank grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the third 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 position in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 61.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.0 %

AMAT stock opened at $192.05 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $173.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $191.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $156.78 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $156.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price target (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.95.

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.