Goldstone Financial Group LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Goldstone Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 54.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,809 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 637 shares during the period. Goldstone Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $294,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 28,239 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,939 shares during the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 22,085 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,592,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,874,000. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $1,641,000. Finally, Fermata Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 66.4% in the 4th quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 2,651 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.41.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $192.05 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $156.78 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $156.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a fifty day moving average of $173.10 and a 200 day moving average of $191.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

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.