Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Position Raised by Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.

Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,992 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $647,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Mechanics Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 3,957 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $641,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Kaizen Financial Strategies boosted its position in Applied Materials by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Kaizen Financial Strategies now owns 3,733 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Redwood Financial Network Corp increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.6% in the third quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 1,721 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,894 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 4,427 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $717,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Citigroup upped their price target on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $6.18 during trading on Friday, hitting $204.09. The stock had a trading volume of 3,818,510 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,695,384. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $111.72 and a 12 month high of $214.91. The company has a market capitalization of $169.58 billion, a PE ratio of 24.01, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $203.89 and its 200 day moving average is $173.57.

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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The firm had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 15.06%.

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.