Concord Asset Management LLC VA Purchases 668 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Concord Asset Management LLC VA boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,072 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 668 shares during the period. Concord Asset Management LLC VA’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,963,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% during 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 in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 target price (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.71.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $180.35 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $158.96 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.95, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

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.