SP Asset Management LLC Buys 37,071 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

SP Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 175.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 58,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,071 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises about 0.8% of SP Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. SP Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $9,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,808,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,841,178,000 after purchasing an additional 672,548 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,826,373 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,994,968,000 after acquiring an additional 371,866 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 5.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,413,112 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,316,269,000 after acquiring an additional 858,122 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 3.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,861,933 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,790,554,000 after acquiring an additional 318,445 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,655,308 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,082,353,000 after acquiring an additional 84,130 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AMAT. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.38.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $155.32 on Thursday. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $174.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.78. The stock has a market capitalization 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.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Applied Materials’s dividend 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.