HTLF Bank Acquires Shares of 4,642 Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

HTLF Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,642 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $752,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Kaizen Financial Strategies increased its stake in Applied Materials by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Kaizen Financial Strategies now owns 3,733 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $605,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% during the third quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 2,900 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.6% during the third quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 1,721 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the third quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,343 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $601,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.3% during the third quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 28,027 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,880,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $189.77 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $109.15 and a 12 month high of $214.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $202.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $157.68 billion, a PE ratio of 22.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.59.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The firm had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James upped their target price on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Mizuho upped their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.50.

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.