Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Purchases 3,753 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 15.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,648 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,753 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,643,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 76.9% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 60.0% in the fourth quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 320 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.2 %

AMAT stock opened at $198.65 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $203.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $172.81. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $111.20 and a 1-year high of $214.91. The stock has a market cap of $165.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.59.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The business’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 15.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AMAT. Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Barclays lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, B. Riley raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.50.

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.