Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp Buys 815 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp grew its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,242 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 815 shares during the period. Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,174,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 76.9% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.50.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $5.57 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $194.32. 6,217,574 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,200,348. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $202.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.06. The stock has a market cap of $161.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.99, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.59. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $109.12 and a one year high of $214.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The company’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 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.