Oak Harvest Investment Services Has $1.65 Million Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Oak Harvest Investment Services decreased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 47.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 10,164 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 9,307 shares during the quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,051 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,960,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 318,722 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $51,834,000 after buying an additional 85,531 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,646 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,081,000 after buying an additional 1,039 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Palmer Knight Co raised its position in Applied Materials by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Palmer Knight Co now owns 38,111 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,198,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.7 %

AMAT stock opened at $181.72 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $158.96 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $174.24 and its 200 day moving average is $187.55. The firm has a market cap of $147.86 billion, a PE ratio of 21.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Bank of America cut their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.