Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV Has $3.23 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,934 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,353 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for 2.0% of Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kaizen Financial Strategies increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Kaizen Financial Strategies now owns 3,733 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 1,721 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,894 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $469,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,343 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $601,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 28,027 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,880,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT traded up $1.44 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $197.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,232,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,149,218. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $109.15 and a 52 week high of $214.91. The company’s 50-day moving average is $203.34 and its 200-day moving average is $171.12. 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 $164.10 billion, a PE ratio of 23.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.59.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 15.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Monday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.50.

About Applied Materials

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.