Lewis Asset Management LLC Invests $243,000 in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Lewis Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,500 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. CGC Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 76.9% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $203.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $194.29 and a 200-day moving average of $164.12. The company has a market cap of $169.00 billion, a PE ratio of 23.93, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.59. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $109.00 and a one year high of $214.91.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank Of America (Bofa) boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.83.

About Applied Materials

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.