Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Purchases 7,352 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 67,341 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,352 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $10,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley reissued 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. Mizuho dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.71.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $186.75 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $174.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $189.07. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $158.96 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $151.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.69, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

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.