Burney Co. Increases Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

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

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 124 shares in 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 grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.24.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $176.92 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $173.43 and its 200 day moving average is $191.74. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.84 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $143.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

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.