Diversify Advisory Services LLC Has $1.70 Million Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 47.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,910 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,189 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,701,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,617 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $793,000 after acquiring an additional 804 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,388 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,202,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Arbor Trust Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Arbor Trust Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,046 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $983,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Romano Brothers AND Company increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 13,217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,149,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note 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 report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.95.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $192.05 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $173.10 and a 200-day moving average of $190.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $156.78 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $156.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 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 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 for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

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.