Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Acquires 840 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 34.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,276 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 840 shares during the period. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 51.0% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 11,812 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,788,000 after acquiring an additional 3,990 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 24.9% in the 2nd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 3,172 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $749,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares in the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,077 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 168,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $34,079,000 after purchasing an additional 10,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 3,435 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $180.35 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $187.06. The stock has a market cap of $146.57 billion, a PE ratio of 20.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $158.96 and a 12 month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. Research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AMAT. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.71.

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.