Milestone Asset Management LLC Grows Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Milestone Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 74.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,881 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 4,633 shares during the quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its stake in Applied Materials by 326.3% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 592.9% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 4.1 %

AMAT stock traded up $7.24 during trading on Thursday, hitting $182.52. The company had a trading volume of 3,213,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,662,833. The business has a 50-day moving average of $174.24 and a 200-day moving average of $187.55. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $158.96 and a one year high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $148.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.18, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $218.71.

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.