Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Acquired by Brighton Jones LLC

Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 28.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. New Century Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $271,000. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 2,757 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Verde Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $493,000. Red Door Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $262,000. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 148,794 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $24,198,000 after buying an additional 3,958 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.71.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $186.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $173.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $189.92. The stock has a market cap of $151.95 billion, a PE ratio of 21.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $158.96 and a one year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 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 paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 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.