Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC Has $1.80 Million Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 240.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,094 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,836 shares during the period. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,804,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,419 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,459,000 after buying an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 577 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fisher Funds Management LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,669,000. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its stake in Applied Materials by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 2,241 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $171.98 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $139.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $158.96 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $175.64 and its 200 day moving average is $183.90.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.