Kestra Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 21.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,561 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 636 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Beta Wealth Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $374,000. GAM Holding AG increased its stake in Applied Materials by 81.3% during the 4th quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 40,354 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,563,000 after buying an additional 18,097 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,381 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,912 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 80,389 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,074,000 after purchasing an additional 10,602 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 373,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $60,770,000 after purchasing an additional 110,307 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price target (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $172.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $139.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.98, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $158.96 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $175.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.12.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

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.