Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC Boosts Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 710 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Naviter Wealth LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 121.6% in the 4th quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 8,067 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,312,000 after buying an additional 4,427 shares during the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $85,000. Lifeworks Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 12,063 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,962,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399 shares during the last quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 5,115 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 10,497 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $155.68 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $173.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $181.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $149.55 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $126.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. 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 note on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen cut 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.