Oak Thistle LLC Acquires Shares of 9,734 Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 9,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,583,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 592.9% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 61.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.24.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $173.65 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.84 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $173.43 and a 200 day moving average of $191.74.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

Applied Materials 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.