Stiles Financial Services Inc Buys 1,399 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Stiles Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 29.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,399 shares during the period. Stiles Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,011 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,821,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 25.7% in the third quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 134,354 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $27,146,000 after acquiring an additional 27,427 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.7% during the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 144,836 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $29,264,000 after acquiring an additional 2,370 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its position in Applied Materials by 20.3% in the third quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 134,559 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $27,189,000 after purchasing an additional 22,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA grew its stake in Applied Materials by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 3,889 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $786,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $180.00 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 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 52-week low of $158.96 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $175.19 and a 200 day moving average of $185.32.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.71.

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.