3,029 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Purchased by Verde Capital Management

Verde Capital Management purchased a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,029 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $493,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 29.8% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,327,707,000 after buying an additional 1,509,439 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $340,895,000 after acquiring an additional 164,085 shares in the last quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 47.0% in the 3rd quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 67,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $13,722,000 after acquiring an additional 21,699 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $230,158,000 after purchasing an additional 15,183 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 62.6% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,698,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $343,138,000 after purchasing an additional 653,739 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Susquehanna upped their price target on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.71.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $190.70 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $155.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.15, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $173.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $189.91. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $158.96 and a twelve month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

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.