Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Has $757,000 Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 15.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,669 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 621 shares during the quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $757,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 76.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. RVW Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 333.8% in the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 295 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $1.69 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $192.63. The company had a trading volume of 1,142,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,131,644. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.15 and a 52-week high of $214.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $202.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.24. The company has a market capitalization of $160.06 billion, a PE ratio of 22.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The business had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. B. Riley lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.50.

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.