West Oak Capital LLC Purchases 840 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

West Oak Capital LLC increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,492 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 840 shares during the quarter. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,738,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 71,782,658 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,375,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,033,896 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Applied Materials by 0.8% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,434,684 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,720,928,000 after buying an additional 301,010 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,032,850 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,389,048,000 after buying an additional 456,865 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 6.0% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,995,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,383,848,000 after buying an additional 570,080 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 25.1% in the 2nd quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 9,609,330 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,388,933,000 after acquiring an additional 1,925,722 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.4 %

Applied Materials stock traded down $2.87 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $205.13. The stock had a trading volume of 2,427,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,513,423. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $109.00 and a one year high of $214.91. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $189.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $161.58. The company has a market capitalization of $170.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.13, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The firm had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on AMAT. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, B. Riley lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.83.

Applied Materials 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.