Cwm LLC Raises Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Cwm LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 18.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,821 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,001 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,130,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 76.9% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 333.8% during the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 295 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 795.0% during the third quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 29,606 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 26,298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank Of America (Bofa) increased their price target on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.50.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $193.24 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.59. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.15 and a fifty-two week high of $214.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $202.94 and a 200 day moving average of $170.76.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The company had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.06%.

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.