Geneva Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 22,411 Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Geneva Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 22,411 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,632,000. Applied Materials makes up about 2.0% of Geneva Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $40,000. Finally, RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Mizuho boosted their target price 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. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $220.00 to $260.00 in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.50.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $4.55 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $189.77. 6,493,512 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,204,208. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $109.15 and a 12 month high of $214.91. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $202.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.59. The company has a market capitalization of $157.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.59. 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 announced 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. The firm had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.