Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Position Increased by Apollon Wealth Management LLC

Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 35.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,697 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,502 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 76.9% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. L2 Asset Management LLC grew 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 worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 26,298 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $220.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. B. Riley lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock traded up $4.77 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $208.86. The company had a trading volume of 3,637,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,968,247. The company has a 50 day moving average of $204.00 and a 200-day moving average of $174.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $112.86 and a 52 week high of $214.91. 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 $173.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.57, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.58.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The company had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 15.06%.

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.