Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Acquired by Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co

Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 48,169 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 520 shares during the quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,834,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its stake in Applied Materials by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,617,378 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $424,986,000 after buying an additional 66,275 shares in the last quarter. Quartz Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Quartz Partners LLC now owns 7,709 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,254,000 after acquiring an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 3,397 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $552,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 19,629 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,193,000 after purchasing an additional 3,652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J. W. Coons Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 5,259 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $855,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $168.57 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business’s 50 day moving average is $175.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $158.96 and a 12-month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced 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. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

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.