Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Acquired by West Michigan Advisors LLC

West Michigan Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,749 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,295,324 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $535,919,000 after buying an additional 40,581 shares during the period. Maple Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. now owns 83,288 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,545,000 after buying an additional 14,419 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,536,000. Finally, Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY now owns 65,605 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $10,669,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $158.07 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $128.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. 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 50 day moving average of $175.38 and a 200-day moving average of $182.90. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.95 and a 12-month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 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, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of several research reports. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.