Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Purchases New Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 34,220 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,565,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $577,288,000 after purchasing an additional 2,209,218 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 67.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,663,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $942,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,884,153 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,327,707,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509,439 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,006,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 87.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $164.00 price target (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.1 %

Applied Materials stock traded up $1.98 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $176.04. The company had a trading volume of 6,686,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,702,766. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $175.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $183.98. The firm has a market cap of $143.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $158.96 and a 12-month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given 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 is currently 20.92%.

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.