Sheets Smith Wealth Management Buys 70,478 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sheets Smith Wealth Management increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4,048.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,219 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 70,478 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises about 1.4% of Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $11,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mechanics Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 3,957 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $641,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Kaizen Financial Strategies increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Kaizen Financial Strategies now owns 3,733 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $605,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Redwood Financial Network Corp raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.6% during the third quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 1,721 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 2.7% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 4,427 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $717,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AMAT. Raymond James increased their price target on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $6.18 during trading on Friday, reaching $204.09. 3,818,510 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,695,384. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.58. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $111.72 and a 12 month high of $214.91. The company has a 50 day moving average of $203.89 and a 200-day moving average of $174.01. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 15.06%.

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.