Hudock Inc. Has $672,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Hudock Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 21.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 727 shares during the quarter. Hudock Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Sargent Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Field & Main Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the 4th 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.3 %

AMAT stock opened at $180.89 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.01 billion, a PE ratio of 21.01, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $158.96 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $175.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $184.87.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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 assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.00.

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.