Avity Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Avity Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 206,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,019 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up 2.6% of Avity Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Avity Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $33,641,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $337,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 27.2% in the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 16,072 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,793,000 after buying an additional 3,437 shares during the last quarter. Arvest Trust Co. N A boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 2,860.8% in the second quarter. Arvest Trust Co. N A now owns 68,364 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $16,133,000 after buying an additional 66,055 shares in the last quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc grew its position in Applied Materials by 6.1% during the second quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 1,775 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $1,340,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $173.65 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.84 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $173.43 and a 200 day moving average of $191.74. The company has a market cap of $141.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The firm 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 business’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.24.

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.