Centricity Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 290 Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 290 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $47,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 592.9% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $171.98 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $158.96 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $175.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given 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 0.93%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials 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.