SVB Wealth LLC Invests $2.54 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 15,595 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,536,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,327,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,439 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $340,895,000 after acquiring an additional 164,085 shares in the last quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 47.0% during the third quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 67,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,722,000 after acquiring an additional 21,699 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $230,158,000 after acquiring an additional 15,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 62.6% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,698,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $343,138,000 after purchasing an additional 653,739 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AMAT. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $158.07 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.95 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $175.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $182.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.66, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 20.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.