Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Position Raised by Nepsis Inc.

Nepsis Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 79.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 146,994 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 65,086 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises approximately 3.4% of Nepsis Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Nepsis Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $23,906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% in the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,847,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% in the third quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.3% in the third quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. waypoint wealth counsel increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.1% in the third quarter. waypoint wealth counsel now owns 1,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in the third quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 4,259 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $860,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $186.75 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $151.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $189.92. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $158.96 and a 12 month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced 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 business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. KeyCorp upgraded 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, January 17th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research 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 given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.71.

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.