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, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 33,800 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,497,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.0 %

AMAT 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 stock has a market capitalization of $119.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $168.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.14. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.37 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released 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%. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp raised 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. Mizuho lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup upped their price target on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

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.