Palmer Knight Co Purchases 239 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Palmer Knight Co boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,111 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up 2.8% of Palmer Knight Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Palmer Knight Co’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,198,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at $33,000. First PREMIER Bank boosted its position 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 buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on AMAT. Mizuho dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.71.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $175.28 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $174.15 and its 200 day moving average is $187.64. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $158.96 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.45 billion, a PE ratio of 20.36, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

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.