Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,953 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises 2.2% of Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 30.2% during the 4th quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 8,808 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Hendley & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 45.2% in the 4th quarter. Hendley & Co. Inc. now owns 31,356 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,099,000 after acquiring an additional 9,757 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 145.6% in the 4th quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $544,000 after acquiring an additional 1,985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BHK Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. BHK Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,847 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $626,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on AMAT. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $168.57 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $183.74. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $158.96 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.04, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 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, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.92%.

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.