Agate Pass Investment Management LLC Boosts Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Agate Pass Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,335 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $33,000. First PREMIER Bank grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $0.65 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $171.00. 1,607,807 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,441,436. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.84 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $192.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.86, a PEG ratio of 1.61 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.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.24.

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.