Naples Global Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Naples Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,465 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the period. Naples Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,768,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Forum Financial Management LP increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% in the third quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.3% during 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 period. Field & Main Bank lifted its position in Applied Materials by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 3,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the 3rd 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.00.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.3 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $180.89 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $158.96 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $175.20 and its 200-day moving average is $184.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The company has a market cap of $147.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.01, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

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.