Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Position Raised by AlphaMark Advisors LLC

AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 50.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $67,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $245,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,006,000. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,613 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $853,000 after buying an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 140.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 5,553 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,310,000 after acquiring an additional 3,245 shares during the period. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $362,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $186.75 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $151.95 billion, a PE ratio of 21.69, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53. 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 50 day moving average price is $174.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $189.07. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $158.96 and a 52 week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. Research analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed 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. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.