Valmark Advisers Inc. Increases Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,862 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 592.9% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $172.00 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $175.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $139.78 billion, a PE ratio of 19.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $158.96 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.