Hill Island Financial LLC Takes $229,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Hill Island Financial LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,410 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $229,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMAT. CGC Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 76.9% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.83.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.6 %

AMAT traded up $1.33 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $208.00. 3,060,305 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,584,405. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.91. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.00 and a fifty-two week high of $214.91. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $189.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $161.58. The stock has a market cap of $172.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.59.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 15.06%.

About Applied Materials

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.