Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,419 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Sargent Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Biltmore Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Field & Main Bank boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 3,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners raised its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 4,259 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $860,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on AMAT. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $171.98 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $158.96 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $139.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $175.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $183.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 20.92%.

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.