Merit Financial Group LLC Grows Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 51.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,122 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,610 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,573,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 341.0% during the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,857,155 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $577,288,000 after acquiring an additional 2,209,218 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 67.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,663,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $942,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,153 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,327,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,439 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 262.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,390,501 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $280,951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,937 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 87.7% in the 3rd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,877,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $379,275,000 after buying an additional 877,133 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.0 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $192.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock has a market cap of $156.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $173.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $191.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $156.78 and a one year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on AMAT. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.95.

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.