Delta Investment Management LLC Has $423,000 Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Delta Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 25.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,609 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 524 shares during the quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 333.8% during the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 295 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 795.0% during the 3rd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 29,606 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 26,298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $5.88 on Friday, hitting $203.38. 3,933,453 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,553,379. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The business’s fifty day moving average is $203.42 and its 200 day moving average is $171.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $109.15 and a 52 week high of $214.91. The company has a market capitalization of $168.99 billion, a PE ratio of 23.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.59.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The firm had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate 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. Investors 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 is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 15.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $220.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.50.

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.