Bison Wealth LLC Has $351,000 Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Bison Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the quarter. Bison Wealth LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AMAT. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Bank Of America (Bofa) boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $209.48 on Wednesday. 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 one year low of $109.00 and a one year high of $214.91. The company has a market cap of $174.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.64, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $201.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.85.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 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%. The firm’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. This is a positive change 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.