Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Has $17.97 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 110,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,353 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $17,969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 4.1% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 26,375 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,652,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $567,000. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its stake in Applied Materials by 7,095.5% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 1,583 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 1,561 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.0% in the third quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 8,655 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,198,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC now owns 5,246 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded up $2.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $220.89. 3,795,707 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,466,837. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $206.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $181.66. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $126.13 and a twelve month high of $225.07.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The business’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.64.

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.