Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC Buys 264 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 16,953 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for about 2.2% of Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup upped their price target on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Mizuho dropped their price objective 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, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $168.57 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $175.62 and its 200 day moving average is $183.74. The company has a market capitalization of $137.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $158.96 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.