Mach 1 Financial Group LLC Has $1.31 Million Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Mach 1 Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 11.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,075 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the period. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. L2 Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 795.0% during the 3rd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 29,606 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 26,298 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.2 %

AMAT traded down $6.61 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $198.65. The company had a trading volume of 3,894,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,054,916. 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 12 month low of $111.20 and a 12 month high of $214.91. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $203.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $172.81. The company has a market cap of $165.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.37, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.59.

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 business had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 15.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.50.

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.