Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Bought by Kovack Advisors Inc.

Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,062 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,327,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,439 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $340,895,000 after purchasing an additional 164,085 shares in the last quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 47.0% in the 3rd quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 67,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $13,722,000 after purchasing an additional 21,699 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $230,158,000 after purchasing an additional 15,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 62.6% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,698,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $343,138,000 after purchasing an additional 653,739 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock opened at $158.07 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $128.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.95 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $175.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $183.03.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 20.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.