SRS Capital Advisors Inc. Increases Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 609.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,134 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,833 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Swedbank AB lifted 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 in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,368 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,489,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 5,775 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 759 shares during the last quarter. F M Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth $437,000. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,709 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Mizuho cut their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America cut their target price 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. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $152.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $175.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $182.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.60 billion, a PE ratio of 19.89, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.67 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders 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 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 20.92%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.