Providence Capital Advisors LLC Invests $5.50 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Providence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 33,800 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,497,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 61.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $147.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The company’s 50-day moving average is $168.27 and its 200 day moving average is $177.14. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $145.37 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

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%. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on AMAT. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.