Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Acquired by Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC

Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 203.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 41,039 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,523 shares during the quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 37,263 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,060,000 after buying an additional 6,365 shares during the last quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC now owns 2,402 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $391,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $589,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,125,014 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $182,961,000 after acquiring an additional 4,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Callahan Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 75,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $12,244,000 after purchasing an additional 761 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $174.06 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $158.96 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $175.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $184.05. The firm has a market cap of $141.46 billion, a PE ratio of 22.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid 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 0.92%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.92%.

Applied Materials 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.