Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC Purchases Shares of 10,092 Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 10,092 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,641,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at $33,000. First PREMIER Bank boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 4.5 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $186.48 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.20 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $173.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $191.65. The firm has a market cap of $151.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on AMAT. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.55.

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.