Mather Group LLC. Boosts Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Mather Group LLC. increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 19,931 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 112 shares during the quarter. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,230,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 4,182 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Red Wave Investments LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $209,000. Marco Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 36,240 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,873,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 115.0% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 1,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,892 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $205.26 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $170.55 billion, a PE ratio of 24.15, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.59. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $111.20 and a 12-month high of $214.91. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $203.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $172.40.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The business had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Citigroup increased their target price on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Bank Of America (Bofa) boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. B. Riley increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.50.

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.