Vest Financial LLC Purchases 61,122 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 41.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 209,771 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 61,122 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $34,115,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,092 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $503,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Conning Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 32,790 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,333,000 after purchasing an additional 1,890 shares in the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $1,943,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $700,000. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 62,135 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,105,000 after buying an additional 2,910 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $180.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.53. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $175.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.86. 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 12 month low of $158.96 and a 12 month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 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 business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.71.

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.