Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Position Raised by Plan Group Financial LLC

Plan Group Financial LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,402 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Plan Group Financial LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Swedbank AB grew its position in Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $857,615,000 after purchasing an additional 108,827 shares during the last quarter. GFG Capital LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. GFG Capital LLC now owns 30,731 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,209,000 after buying an additional 3,114 shares in the last quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 4,759 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $962,000 after acquiring an additional 598 shares during the period. Roof Eidam Maycock Peralta LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Roof Eidam Maycock Peralta LLC now owns 8,080 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,633,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Telos Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,748 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $555,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $172.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $139.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $158.96 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $175.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.12.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup upped their target price on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research 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 MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

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.