Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Holdings Raised by Portfolio Design Labs LLC

Portfolio Design Labs LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 33.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,787 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,474 shares during the period. Portfolio Design Labs LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC raised 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 buying an additional 166 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 61.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $183.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $175.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $185.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $158.96 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $148.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders 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 0.87%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. 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 report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.00.

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.