GAMMA Investing LLC Takes $598,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,640 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $598,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $39,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 795.0% in the third quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 29,606 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 26,298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on AMAT. Bank Of America (Bofa) increased their target price on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Raymond James upped their target price on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.50.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $1.02 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $194.26. 2,049,202 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,140,475. 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 12-month low of $109.15 and a 12-month high of $214.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.85, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $202.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.76.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The company’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 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.