MONECO Advisors LLC Raises Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

MONECO Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 14.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,974 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 633 shares during the period. MONECO Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $857,615,000 after buying an additional 108,827 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 8.4% in the third quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,456 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $698,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 19.7% in the third quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,294 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $671,000 after buying an additional 542 shares during the period. Parcion Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $241,000. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 11.3% in the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 9,045 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,828,000 after purchasing an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $171.98 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $175.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $158.96 and a twelve month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 20.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.38.

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.