Empirical Finance LLC Decreases Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Empirical Finance LLC lowered its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,923 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 427 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 49,334 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,023,000 after buying an additional 8,434 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Resource Group lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 27,884 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,535,000 after acquiring an additional 3,017 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 22,937 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,730,000 after purchasing an additional 2,084 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,309 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 8,883 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,445,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $180.00 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $158.96 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $146.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.56. 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 results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.71.

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.