Unified Investment Management Acquires New Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Unified Investment Management acquired a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,666 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $434,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT traded up $2.45 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $155.32. The stock had a trading volume of 5,858,137 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,864,508. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $174.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.78. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.55 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $126.19 billion, a PE ratio of 20.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.92%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho lowered their price objective 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. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.