Zhang Financial LLC Has $1.49 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Zhang Financial LLC increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 26.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,171 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,894 shares during the quarter. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 14.9% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 11,927 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,815,000 after acquiring an additional 1,549 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 7.6% during the second quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 3,931 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $928,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 64.5% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,177 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,346,000 after purchasing an additional 5,561 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 9.2% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 137,188 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,375,000 after buying an additional 11,535 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.5% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 410,705 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $96,923,000 after buying an additional 2,222 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One research 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.95.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $192.05 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $173.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $190.95. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $156.78 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released 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 company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 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. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Applied Materials’s dividend 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.