Intellectus Partners LLC Purchases 1,465 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Intellectus Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 40.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,115 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,465 shares during the period. Intellectus Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Swedbank AB raised its stake in Applied Materials by 2.6% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $857,615,000 after buying an additional 108,827 shares during the last quarter. M&G PLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 72.4% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 16,156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,264,000 after purchasing an additional 6,786 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.5% in the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 27,366 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,435 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 32.1% in the third quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,688 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,626 shares during the period. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.0% in the third quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 55,149 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $11,142,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $46,807.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.7 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $155.68 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.55 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The stock 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. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $173.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 20.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen reduced their price target 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. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.