TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. Takes Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,789 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $290,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 47.0% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,480,780 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $343,464,000 after purchasing an additional 793,610 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,724,217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $441,514,000 after acquiring an additional 778,716 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 142.4% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,140,314 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $176,029,000 after acquiring an additional 669,898 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,995,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,383,848,000 after acquiring an additional 570,080 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 13,929.6% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 515,028 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $834,710,000 after purchasing an additional 511,357 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $4.34 on Monday, hitting $208.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,045,073 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,949,297. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $203.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.01. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $112.86 and a one year high of $214.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AMAT. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.50.

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.