Twin City Private Wealth LLC Purchases New Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Twin City Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,824 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $459,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $857,615,000 after purchasing an additional 108,827 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $319,000. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% during the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 4,037 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $816,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 20.6% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 42,877 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $8,234,000 after acquiring an additional 7,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 40.8% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 29,597 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $5,980,000 after acquiring an additional 8,576 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock traded down $2.62 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $145.06. 7,711,315 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,276,190. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.12 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.85 billion, a PE ratio of 18.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.67.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business's 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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.