Mendota Financial Group LLC Acquires 70 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Mendota Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 614 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 70 shares during the quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $100,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Merriman Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Merriman Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,438 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Biltmore Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 5.3% in the third quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, waypoint wealth counsel grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.1% during the third quarter. waypoint wealth counsel now owns 1,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $170.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $139.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.84 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $173.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.18.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. Dbs Bank cut Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price objective (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.24.

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.