Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Bought by Gryphon Financial Partners LLC

Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 18.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,826 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 286 shares during the quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials 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 value 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 $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $152.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.89, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $175.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.67 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.92%.

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.