Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Bought by Concord Wealth Partners

Concord Wealth Partners raised its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 126.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,538 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,205 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 76.9% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $39,000. L2 Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 795.0% during the third quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 29,606 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 26,298 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.50.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock traded up $1.54 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $200.19. 2,742,796 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,014,277. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $203.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $172.81. The firm has a market cap of $166.34 billion, a PE ratio of 22.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.59. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $111.20 and a twelve month high of $214.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.06%.

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.