Maia Wealth LLC Buys New Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Maia Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,293 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $575,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp upgraded 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 upped their target price on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.38.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of AMAT stock traded up $2.45 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $155.32. 5,858,137 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,864,508. 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. The stock has a market cap of $126.19 billion, a PE ratio of 20.30, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $174.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.96.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

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.