Elevatus Welath Management Decreases Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Elevatus Welath Management reduced its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 29.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,285 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,359 shares during the period. Elevatus Welath Management’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,907,357 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $472,823,000 after purchasing an additional 7,921 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 6,338 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,031,000 after buying an additional 1,208 shares in the last quarter. Belmont Capital LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $651,000. Capital International Ltd. CA grew its stake in Applied Materials by 144.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA now owns 31,095 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,057,000 after acquiring an additional 18,352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cadence Bank raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 110,072 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $17,901,000 after acquiring an additional 1,603 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Mizuho cut their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.29.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.5 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $137.46 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $152.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.78.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.