Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by KLCM Advisors Inc.

KLCM Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 69.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,438 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,406 shares during the quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $557,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT traded down $9.57 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $199.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,347,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,156,729. The stock has a market cap of $166.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.05, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $201.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.85. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.12 and a twelve month high of $214.91.

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 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 firm had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Applied Materials from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Bank Of America (Bofa) raised 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. Raymond James increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average 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.