Opinicus Capital Inc. Increases Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Opinicus Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,715 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 187 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up approximately 1.1% of Opinicus Capital Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Opinicus Capital Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,327,707,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509,439 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $340,895,000 after purchasing an additional 164,085 shares during the last quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 47.0% in the 3rd quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 67,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $13,722,000 after purchasing an additional 21,699 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $230,158,000 after buying an additional 15,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Applied Materials by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,698,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $343,138,000 after buying an additional 653,739 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $180.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $146.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $175.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $158.96 and a twelve month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.71.

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.