Diversified LLC Invests $212,000 in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Diversified LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,307 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Applied Materials by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,032,850 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,389,048,000 after buying an additional 456,865 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Applied Materials by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,995,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,383,848,000 after buying an additional 570,080 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,968,838 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $687,936,000 after buying an additional 230,789 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Applied Materials by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,529,689 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $488,685,000 after buying an additional 32,622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,831,986 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $458,980,000 after buying an additional 351,206 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $220.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, B. Riley increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.50.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $189.46 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $202.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.38. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $109.15 and a 1-year high of $214.91. The firm has a market cap of $157.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The business had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 15.06%.

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.