Mission Wealth Management LP Sells 16,205 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Mission Wealth Management LP lessened its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 22.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 54,452 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 16,205 shares during the quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $8,856,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $857,615,000 after acquiring an additional 108,827 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 3,255 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $658,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,368 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,489,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 5,775 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 759 shares during the period. Finally, F M Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $437,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $2.45 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $155.32. 5,858,137 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,864,508. The business's 50-day moving average price is $174.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.55 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. Susquehanna increased their price target on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $164.00 price objective (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $215.38.

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.