Burney Co. Acquires 979 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Burney Co. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,620 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 979 shares during the period. Burney Co.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $9,045,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. First PREMIER Bank boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 326.3% in 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 during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% during the 3rd 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, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.9 %

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $176.92 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $143.96 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $173.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $191.74. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.84 and a 12-month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its 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 net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid 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 currently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.24.

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.