Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Grows Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,466 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $977,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DJE Kapital AG bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,537,000. Sonoma Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Sonoma Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,475 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $890,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 42,211 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,890,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,074,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 59.6% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 21,267 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,459,000 after purchasing an additional 7,938 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.8 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $152.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $123.60 billion, a PE ratio of 19.89, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.67 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $175.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $182.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.92%.

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.