Castle Wealth Management LLC Takes $216,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Castle Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,330 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 333.8% during the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 295 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Bank Of America (Bofa) boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. B. Riley boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.50.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT traded down $4.55 during trading on Friday, reaching $189.77. 6,493,512 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,204,208. The company’s 50-day moving average is $202.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.59. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.15 and a 12-month high of $214.91. The company has a market cap of $157.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33, a P/E/G 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.06%.

Applied Materials Company 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.