Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV Reduces Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV lowered its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,934 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,353 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up about 2.0% of Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of 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 worth $1,389,048,000 after acquiring an additional 456,865 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,995,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,383,848,000 after acquiring an additional 570,080 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 4.9% during 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% during 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% during 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. B. Riley raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.50.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $1.44 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $197.50. 4,232,068 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,149,218. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $203.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $171.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $109.15 and a one year high of $214.91. The firm has a market cap of $164.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.59.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.