Diversified LLC Acquires Shares of 1,307 Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Diversified LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,307 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Aldebaran Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,274,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 132.7% during the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,704 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,707,000 after purchasing an additional 9,527 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 31.2% during the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 164,751 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $22,810,000 after purchasing an additional 39,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.3% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,161,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $299,267,000 after purchasing an additional 6,466 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. B. Riley lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Bank Of America (Bofa) boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $189.46 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.15 and a 1 year high of $214.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $202.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $170.38. 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 company 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.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

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.