Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,367 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 782 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kaizen Financial Strategies raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Kaizen Financial Strategies now owns 3,733 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the third quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 2,900 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Redwood Financial Network Corp increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.6% in the third quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 1,721 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% in the third quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,343 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $601,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Glenview Trust co increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.3% in the third quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 28,027 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,880,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on AMAT. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.83.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $206.23 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $171.36 billion, a PE ratio of 24.26, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.59. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $109.00 and a 12 month high of $214.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $190.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $161.90.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The firm’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.03 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.06%.

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.