2,698 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Bought by Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc.

Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,698 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $437,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,032,850 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,389,048,000 after purchasing an additional 456,865 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,995,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,383,848,000 after purchasing an additional 570,080 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,017,147 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $813,129,000 after acquiring an additional 130,238 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,968,838 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $687,936,000 after acquiring an additional 230,789 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,494,928 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $728,493,000 after purchasing an additional 66,923 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $207.36. 2,842,351 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,903,436. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.58. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $112.86 and a 12 month high of $214.91. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $204.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.05. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The company had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.