Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Bought by Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC

Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 16.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,631 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after buying an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $271,000. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 2,757 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Verde Capital Management purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $493,000. Finally, Red Door Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $262,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $186.75 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $151.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $174.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $189.50. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $158.96 and a twelve month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on AMAT. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.71.

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.