Aldebaran Financial Inc. Invests $211,000 in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Aldebaran Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,300 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in 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 valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 333.8% in the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 295 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Raymond James lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $4.55 during trading on Friday, hitting $189.77. The company had a trading volume of 6,495,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,179,863. The company has a market cap of $157.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.33, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.59. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $109.15 and a 52 week high of $214.91. The business’s 50-day moving average is $202.61 and its 200 day moving average is $169.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The firm’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 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.