Headlands Technologies LLC Takes $692,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $692,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 149.4% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 444 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 86.3% in the third quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 3,075 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $405,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 296,277 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $41,020,000 after purchasing an additional 3,756 shares during the period. Finally, Jmac Enterprises LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.6% during the third quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 2,254 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Mizuho raised their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Citigroup raised their price target on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT traded up $5.88 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $203.38. 3,933,453 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,553,379. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.91. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.15 and a twelve month high of $214.91. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $203.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $171.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The firm had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.06%.

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.