SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Makes New Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 12,750 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,074,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $215.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $2.45 during trading 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. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.55 and a 12 month 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 firm has a market cap of $126.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. The business's 50-day moving average is $174.50 and its 200 day moving average is $181.78.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 yield of 1.03%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.92%.

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.