Foster & Motley Inc. Has $1.82 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Foster & Motley Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,241 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,448 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,822,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. RWA Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 65.6% during the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 17,505 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,837,000 after buying an additional 6,937 shares during the period. Monument Capital Management boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,850 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Diversified LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $212,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,831,986 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $458,980,000 after acquiring an additional 351,206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 4,061 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $658,000 after acquiring an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $190.75 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $202.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.38. 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 capitalization of $158.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.59. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $109.15 and a 1-year high of $214.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The business had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

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.