Mach 1 Financial Group LLC Grows Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Mach 1 Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,075 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 857 shares during the period. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 76.9% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. L2 Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 795.0% in the 3rd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 29,606 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 26,298 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of AMAT stock traded down $6.61 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $198.65. The stock had a trading volume of 3,894,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,054,916. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $111.20 and a 12-month high of $214.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.59. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $203.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.81. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The business had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 15.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Bank Of America (Bofa) boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. B. Riley boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.50.

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.