AJOVista LLC Takes $128,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

AJOVista LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 792 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $128,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 76.9% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 60.0% during the fourth quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 320 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Bank Of America (Bofa) upped their target price on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $220.00 to $260.00 in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.50.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.1 %

Applied Materials stock traded up $6.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $204.09. 3,818,510 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,695,384. The company has a market cap of $169.58 billion, a PE ratio of 24.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.58. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $111.72 and a fifty-two week high of $214.91. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $203.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its 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. The business had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company 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 is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.