Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. Has $1.76 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,727 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,808,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,841,178,000 after buying an additional 672,548 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,826,373 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,994,968,000 after acquiring an additional 371,866 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,413,112 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,316,269,000 after purchasing an additional 858,122 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,861,933 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,790,554,000 after acquiring an additional 318,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,655,308 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,082,353,000 after buying an additional 84,130 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on AMAT. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.8 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $152.13 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $150.67 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $175.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.35. The company has a market capitalization of $123.60 billion, a PE ratio of 19.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 20.92%.

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.