Bogart Wealth LLC Buys 3,389 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 46,283 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,389 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 76.9% during 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 during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. L2 Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 795.0% in the third quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 29,606 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 26,298 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $207.35. 302,870 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,841,704. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $204.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $175.05. The company has a market cap of $172.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.40, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.91 and a 52 week high of $214.91.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on AMAT. Barclays lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus 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.