Arkadios Wealth Advisors Acquires 1,543 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 17.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,588 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 1,543 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors' holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,722,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 61.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock traded up $5.57 on Friday, reaching $192.05. 8,101,765 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,337,131. The stock has a market cap of $156.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $173.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $190.95. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $156.78 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Mizuho cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $164.00 target price (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $218.95.

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.