PFG Investments LLC Raises Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

PFG Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 356 shares during the quarter. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $502,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 2,900 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Redwood Financial Network Corp grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 1,721 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,343 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $601,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Glenview Trust co grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 28,027 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,880,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Salvus Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,389 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,300,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Bank Of America (Bofa) upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.83.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $208.00 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $109.00 and a 52 week high of $214.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $189.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $161.58. The stock has a market cap of $172.83 billion, a PE ratio of 24.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.59.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The firm had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.06%.

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.