Vision Capital Management Inc. Purchases 377 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Vision Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,575 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the period. Vision Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its position in 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 during the period. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna upped their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.71.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $180.67 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The business has a fifty day moving average of $174.67 and a 200 day moving average of $185.92. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $158.96 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

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.