Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,894 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 5,707 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $925,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Planning Directions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $311,000. abrdn plc grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 902,080 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $146,200,000 after purchasing an additional 185,920 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 14,962 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,425,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castle Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $216,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $189.46 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The stock has a market cap of $157.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.59. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $202.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.38. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.15 and a 1 year high of $214.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The company had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 15.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on AMAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group increased their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.