8,461 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Acquired by Millington Financial Advisors LLC

Millington Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 8,461 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,513,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $857,615,000 after acquiring an additional 108,827 shares in the last quarter. FCG Investment Co bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth approximately $1,094,000. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 16.1% in the third quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,725 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE now owns 51,272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $10,360,000 after buying an additional 7,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. 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 fifty day moving average price of $175.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $183.74. The firm has a market cap of $137.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.