Portfolio Design Labs LLC Has $2.24 Million Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Portfolio Design Labs LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 33.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,787 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,474 shares during the quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 592.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.00.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $183.20 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $175.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.04. The company has a market cap of $148.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $158.96 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.