GFG Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Rating) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 37,717 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 856 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up approximately 1.0% of GFG Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. GFG Capital LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,083,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Disciplined Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 53.2% in the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 337 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 113.1% in the 2nd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 341 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Emfo LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 75.22% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 4.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $5.20 on Thursday, hitting $124.21. 5,039,559 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,022,502. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $71.12 and a 12 month high of $145.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.59. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $105.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 1.35.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $80.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, November 18th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $98.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 30th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $125.00 to $102.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 7th. Susquehanna Bancshares increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $80.00 to $92.00 in a report on Friday, November 18th. Finally, Summit Insights raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $117.64.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Xun Chen sold 377 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Friday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.80, for a total transaction of $40,640.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 39,868 shares in the company, valued at $4,297,770.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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Applied Materials, Inc provides manufacturing equipment, services and software to the semiconductor, display and related industries. It operates through the following segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display & Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment includes semiconductor capital equipment for etch, rapid thermal processing, deposition, chemical mechanical planarization, metrology and inspection, wafer packaging, and ion implantation.

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