Naviter Wealth LLC Buys 4,427 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Naviter Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 121.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,067 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,427 shares during the quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.7 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $155.68 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $149.55 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $173.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $126.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.92%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, 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 through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.