Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Has $469,000 Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,894 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 75 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 76.9% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 333.8% in the 3rd 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. L2 Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 795.0% during the 3rd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 29,606 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 26,298 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Bank Of America (Bofa) upped their price target on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Raymond James increased their price target on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, B. Riley increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.50.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.2 %

AMAT opened at $189.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.42 billion, a PE ratio of 22.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.59. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.15 and a fifty-two week high of $214.91. The company’s 50-day moving average is $202.69 and its 200 day moving average is $170.38.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio 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.