Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC Grows Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,808 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in 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 raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.3% during the 3rd 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. Field & Main Bank boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 3,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the third quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 4,259 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $860,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $168.57 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $175.62 and a 200 day moving average of $183.74. The company has a market capitalization of $137.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 20.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

About Applied Materials

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.