ORG Partners LLC Increases Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

ORG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 392.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 443 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $72,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. First PREMIER Bank boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 592.9% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $171.65 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $148.48 and a 12 month high of $255.89.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.71.

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.