Winthrop Advisory Group LLC Acquires 626 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Winthrop Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 33.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,479 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 626 shares during the quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.71.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $1.65 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $170.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 592,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,289,587. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $173.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $192.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.84 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors 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 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 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.