Sax Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New $1.51 Million Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sax Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 9,300 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,512,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 341.0% in the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,857,155 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $577,288,000 after purchasing an additional 2,209,218 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 67.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,663,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $942,187,000 after buying an additional 1,884,153 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,327,707,000 after buying an additional 1,509,439 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 262.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,390,501 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $280,951,000 after buying an additional 1,006,937 shares during the period. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 87.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,877,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $379,275,000 after acquiring an additional 877,133 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $192.05 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $191.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.78 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $156.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly 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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AMAT. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday. 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.41.

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.