Everence Capital Management Inc. Acquires 400 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 23,216 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. First PREMIER Bank grew its stake in Applied Materials by 326.3% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Dbs Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho cut their price target on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.29.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $4.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $168.34. The company had a trading volume of 1,640,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,824,747. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $148.05 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $175.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $195.91. The firm has a market cap of $136.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.55, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.52.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

About Applied Materials

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.