Bison Wealth LLC Purchases 116 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Bison Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the quarter. Bison Wealth LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $351,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Dakota Wealth Management increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 18,555 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,007,000 after buying an additional 2,032 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 4,059 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $658,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,544 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,222,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in Applied Materials by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 5,946 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $964,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $209.48 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $109.00 and a 52 week high of $214.91. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $201.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $168.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $174.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.59.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current 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 0.76%. 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. B. Riley increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.50.

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.