Tradewinds Capital Management LLC Raises Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 577 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $94,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $857,615,000 after acquiring an additional 108,827 shares during the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 19,832 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,007,000 after buying an additional 1,864 shares in the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,456 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $698,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,294 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $671,000 after buying an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $171.98 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $139.77 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $158.96 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $175.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $183.86. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

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.