Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Acquired by Ridgewood Investments LLC

Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 229.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,497 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,829 shares during the quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Lantz Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $212,000. MGO One Seven LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 10.1% during the second quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 13,637 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,218,000 after buying an additional 1,248 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $475,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,084,186 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,199,817,000 after buying an additional 81,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 27.1% during the second quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 310,448 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $73,263,000 after buying an additional 66,184 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.7 %

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $6.59 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $170.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,110,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,383,285. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $138.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $148.48 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $174.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $193.58.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One investment 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $219.43.

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.