SFE Investment Counsel Has $2.94 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

SFE Investment Counsel trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 18,165 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 375 shares during the period. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 76.9% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $39,000. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 333.8% in the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 295 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $5.38 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $194.51. The company had a trading volume of 4,063,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,169,328. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $202.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.06. The stock has a market cap of $161.62 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.91. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $109.12 and a 1-year high of $214.91.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 15.06%.

About Applied Materials

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.