1,771 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Purchased by Orca Wealth Management LLC

Orca Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,771 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $288,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,808,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $7,841,178,000 after acquiring an additional 672,548 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,826,373 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,994,968,000 after purchasing an additional 371,866 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,413,112 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,316,269,000 after purchasing an additional 858,122 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,861,933 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,790,554,000 after purchasing an additional 318,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Applied Materials by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,327,707,000 after buying an additional 1,509,439 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $1.37 on Friday, hitting $180.35. 5,898,060 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,179,808. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $174.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.57 billion, a PE ratio of 20.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $158.96 and a 1-year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective 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. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price 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. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $218.71.

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.