Wynn Capital LLC Makes New $1.21 Million Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Wynn Capital LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 7,475 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,211,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 76.9% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $39,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 795.0% during the third quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 29,606 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 26,298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT traded up $2.82 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $196.06. 4,605,773 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,173,302. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.85, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.59. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $109.15 and a 1-year high of $214.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $202.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.76. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current 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 $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 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target 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 company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 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 assigned a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.50.

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.