Sax Wealth Advisors LLC Takes $1.51 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sax Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 9,300 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,512,000.

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

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $192.05 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $156.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.78 and a 1-year high of $255.89. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $173.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $191.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, 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 report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.41.

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.