Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. Acquires 125 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 13,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 1.4% of Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in Applied Materials by 0.6% during the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Sargent Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Biltmore Family Office LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. waypoint wealth counsel raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. waypoint wealth counsel now owns 1,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $374,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners lifted its position in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the third quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 4,259 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $860,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Down 6.5 %

AMAT opened at $174.57 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $174.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $188.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $158.96 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of several research reports. Susquehanna upped their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.71.

Applied Materials Company 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.