Marco Investment Management LLC Has $5.87 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Marco Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,240 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Marco Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kaizen Financial Strategies boosted its position in Applied Materials by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Kaizen Financial Strategies now owns 3,733 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $605,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Redwood Financial Network Corp boosted its position in Applied Materials by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 1,721 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,894 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,343 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $601,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 28,027 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,880,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.0 %

AMAT traded up $5.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $203.38. 3,933,453 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,553,379. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.99 billion, a PE ratio of 23.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $203.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $171.98. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.15 and a 1 year high of $214.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 15.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank Of America (Bofa) raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.