Retirement Guys Formula LLC Grows Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Retirement Guys Formula LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,972 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the period. Retirement Guys Formula LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Davidson Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 39,811.1% during the 4th quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,960 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,921,000 after purchasing an additional 17,915 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $1,475,000. Capital Advisors Inc. OK grew its position in Applied Materials by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 288,151 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $46,862,000 after acquiring an additional 7,197 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Financial Group purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $247,000. Finally, Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,062 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,148,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $183.20 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $175.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.04. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $158.96 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock has a market cap of $148.89 billion, a PE ratio of 21.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered 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. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.00.

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.