Capital Performance Advisors LLP Has $241,000 Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Capital Performance Advisors LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,480 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $241,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $77,000. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,851 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,277,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 15,938 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 1,862 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WD Rutherford LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 45.5% in the 4th quarter. WD Rutherford LLC now owns 4,021 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $654,000 after buying an additional 1,257 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Susquehanna upped their price target on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price target (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.10.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $169.20 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $175.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $184.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 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. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

About Applied Materials

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.