Tradewinds Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 16.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 577 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $94,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $171.98 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $158.96 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $139.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $175.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $183.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AMAT. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

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.