Buckingham Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Buckingham Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,789 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the period. Buckingham Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $8,585,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 61.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.10.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $169.20 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $175.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.31. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $158.96 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $137.51 billion, a PE ratio of 19.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 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.