Sax Wealth Advisors LLC Takes $1.51 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sax Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 9,300 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,512,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 341.0% in the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,857,155 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $577,288,000 after acquiring an additional 2,209,218 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 67.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,663,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $942,187,000 after buying an additional 1,884,153 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted 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 last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 262.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,390,501 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $280,951,000 after buying an additional 1,006,937 shares during the period. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 87.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,877,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $379,275,000 after acquiring an additional 877,133 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $5.57 on Friday, hitting $192.05. 8,101,765 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,337,131. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm's 50-day moving average is $173.10 and its 200 day moving average is $191.30. The stock has a market cap of $156.27 billion, a P/E 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.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and set a $164.00 price target (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $217.41.

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.