Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC Buys 970 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,460 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 970 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises 1.7% of Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $132,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 38,846 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,296,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 16,198 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,625,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares during the last quarter. Roof Eidam Maycock Peralta LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $221,000. Finally, Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $690,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $220.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Monday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $3.40 during trading on Friday, reaching $209.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,502,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,494,642. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.71. The firm has a market cap of $174.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.58. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $113.91 and a 12 month high of $214.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $204.37 and a 200-day moving average of $176.02.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. 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 previous year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 15.06%.

Applied Materials Company 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.