Range Financial Group LLC Invests $275,000 in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Range Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,688 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $275,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% during the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Merriman Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Merriman Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,438 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, waypoint wealth counsel increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. waypoint wealth counsel now owns 1,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Evercore ISI cut their price target 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. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $220.29.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $177.82 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $148.24 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $174.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $193.82. The company has a market capitalization of $144.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share 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 issued 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 0.90%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

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.