DAVENPORT & Co LLC Buys 137 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 37,990 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,178,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. First PREMIER Bank increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% during the third 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 third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $178.80 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $145.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.77, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $158.96 and a one year high of $255.89. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $174.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $186.41. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 target price (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.71.

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.