Versor Investments LP Increases Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Versor Investments LP boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 229.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,076 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,022 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,639,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Motiv8 Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 70.4% during the 4th quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC now owns 6,044 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $983,000 after buying an additional 2,497 shares during the last quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $157,426,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 20,342.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 736,741 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $119,816,000 after acquiring an additional 733,137 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 72,592 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $11,806,000 after purchasing an additional 17,769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 57,586 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,365,000 after purchasing an additional 4,947 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $168.51 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $158.96 and a 12-month high of $255.89. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $136.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $183.46.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 20.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target 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. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.