Valley Wealth Managers Inc. Acquires 423 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 16.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,039 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $494,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 592.9% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $172.00 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.12. The firm has a market cap of $139.78 billion, a PE ratio of 19.98, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

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.