Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC Buys Shares of 10,092 Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 10,092 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,641,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $164.00 price target (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $217.41.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $5.57 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $192.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,101,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,431,651. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $173.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $191.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.78 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

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.