Jag Capital Management LLC Buys 188 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Jag Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 25,041 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 188 shares during the quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,072,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Applied Materials by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $340,895,000 after buying an additional 164,085 shares during the last quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 47.0% in the third quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 67,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $13,722,000 after purchasing an additional 21,699 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $230,158,000 after purchasing an additional 15,183 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 62.6% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,698,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $343,138,000 after purchasing an additional 653,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 13,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 3,700 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.8 %

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $152.13 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $175.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $182.35. The company has a market capitalization of $123.60 billion, a PE ratio of 19.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.67 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released 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, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 20.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Susquehanna boosted 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

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.