Stephens Inc. AR Increases Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Stephens Inc. AR raised its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,243 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,427 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,545,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% in the third 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. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.5 %

AMAT stock opened at $180.00 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $175.19 and a 200 day moving average of $185.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $146.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $158.96 and a twelve month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 target price (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.71.

Applied Materials Company 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.