Colonial River Investments LLC Purchases 152 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Colonial River Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,147 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Colonial River Investments LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $857,615,000 after purchasing an additional 108,827 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,456 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,294 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $241,000. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its position in Applied Materials by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 9,045 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,828,000 after acquiring an additional 916 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $171.98 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $139.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.53. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $183.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $158.96 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its 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 return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. 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 currently 20.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.