Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Acquired by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 17.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,094 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 601 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $666,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 7.6% during the second quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 3,931 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $928,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 64.5% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,177 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,346,000 after purchasing an additional 5,561 shares during the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $66,000. DRW Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1,432.0% during the 2nd quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 5,168 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,219,000 after buying an additional 5,556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Certified Advisory Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $221,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.95.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $192.05 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $173.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $190.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $156.78 and a 12-month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Applied Materials 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.