GraniteShares Advisors LLC Has $1.28 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

GraniteShares Advisors LLC lessened its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,910 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,110 shares during the period. GraniteShares Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, RVW Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Mizuho raised their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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. Raymond James raised their target price on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $3.80 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $209.48. The company had a trading volume of 3,748,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,197,840. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a 50 day moving average of $200.72 and a 200 day moving average of $168.34. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.00 and a 52-week high of $214.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The business had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.48 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.