RMR Wealth Builders Has $412,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

RMR Wealth Builders increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,545 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $242,000. Everpar Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $872,000. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,309,000. Finally, Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $437,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of 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 given a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.0 %

AMAT stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $207.36. The stock had a trading volume of 2,851,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,903,545. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $204.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $175.05. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $112.86 and a 1-year high of $214.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $172.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.58.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its 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 business 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 earned $2.03 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share 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 given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.