SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC Has $1.71 Million Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,472 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,709,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. CGC Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised 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 in the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $1.77 on Thursday, hitting $206.23. 5,749,205 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,571,782. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $109.00 and a one year high of $214.91. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $190.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $161.90. The company has a market capitalization of $171.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.59.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 15.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. B. Riley upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Citigroup increased 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.83.

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.