D.A. Davidson & CO. Has $13.07 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 15.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,389 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,602 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $13,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.3 %

AMAT stock traded down $4.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $171.98. The company had a trading volume of 7,364,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,722,227. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $175.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $183.92. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $158.96 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $139.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. KeyCorp raised 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, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.38.

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.