Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Acquired by Foundations Investment Advisors LLC

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 50.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,666 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 2,895 shares during the quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its stake 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 during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of AMAT stock traded up $2.43 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $175.28. 5,665,200 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,865,288. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $174.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $187.64. The company has a market capitalization of $142.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $158.96 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AMAT. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered 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, November 29th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped 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. 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 note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.