RMR Wealth Builders Raises Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

RMR Wealth Builders boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,545 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,819 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 204,511 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $27,961,000 after acquiring an additional 44,582 shares during the period. Baystate Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 54.6% during the 3rd quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 487 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at about $595,000. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 14.6% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 5,254 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $705,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $207.36. The stock had a trading volume of 2,851,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,903,545. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $112.86 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $204.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.05. The company has a market cap of $172.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.58.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 15.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho raised their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.50.

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.