Zhang Financial LLC Increases Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Zhang Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 42.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,537 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,656 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $897,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $930,505,000. Cowa LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at $76,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 79,147.5% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,726,422 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $557,639,000 after purchasing an additional 5,719,196 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 25.1% during the second quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 9,609,330 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,388,933,000 after purchasing an additional 1,925,722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 63.9% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,892,930 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $562,685,000 after purchasing an additional 1,517,116 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $189.77 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $202.61 and a 200 day moving average of $169.59. The company has a market capitalization of $157.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.59. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.15 and a 52-week high of $214.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 15.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. B. Riley increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.50.

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.