Krilogy Financial LLC Raises Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Krilogy Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 24.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,388 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 2,784 shares during the quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 14.9% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 11,927 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,815,000 after purchasing an additional 1,549 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 3,931 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $928,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 64.5% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,177 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,346,000 after buying an additional 5,561 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 137,188 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $32,375,000 after acquiring an additional 11,535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 410,705 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $96,923,000 after acquiring an additional 2,222 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock traded up $5.57 during trading on Friday, reaching $192.05. The stock had a trading volume of 8,101,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,337,131. The stock's 50 day moving average is $173.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $190.95. The firm 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. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.78 and a 52 week 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, beating 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 analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors 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 yield of 0.83%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.