MONECO Advisors LLC Acquires 174 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

MONECO Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,248 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $850,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 76.9% in 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 in the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. L2 Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 795.0% during the 3rd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 29,606 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 26,298 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Bank Of America (Bofa) upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.50.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.1 %

AMAT stock opened at $196.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $163.27 billion, a PE ratio of 23.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.71. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $203.72 and its 200 day moving average is $172.81. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $111.20 and a one year high of $214.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 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 company had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm 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 yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.06%.

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.