BHK Investment Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

BHK Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 29.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,847 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 880 shares during the quarter. BHK Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $626,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AMAT. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $168.57 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $175.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $183.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $158.96 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 20.92%.

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.