1,660 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Purchased by Winebrenner Capital Management LLC

Winebrenner Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 1,660 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $270,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at $37,000. 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 during the period. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $171.98 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $139.77 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $158.96 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $175.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.92.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 20.92%.

Applied Materials 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.