Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Acquires 1,813 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,582 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,813 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.0 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $183.66 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $158.96 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $149.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $175.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.17. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced 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 company had revenue of $7.05 billion for 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%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently 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.