Bravias Capital Group LLC Purchases Shares of 1,668 Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Bravias Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,668 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $301,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.6 %

AMAT stock traded up $2.45 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $155.32. 5,858,137 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,864,508. The firm's 50-day moving average is $174.50 and its 200-day moving average is $181.78. The company has a market cap of $126.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.55 and a 12 month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on AMAT. Mizuho cut their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.38.

About Applied Materials

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.