New Millennium Group LLC Has $904,000 Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

New Millennium Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 34,650.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,560 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,544 shares during the quarter. New Millennium Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $904,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at $33,000. First PREMIER Bank boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 326.3% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Susquehanna upped 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. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.71.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $180.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $158.96 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $174.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

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.