Isthmus Partners LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 61,032 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares during the quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $9,926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Sargent Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 5.3% in the third quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Field & Main Bank grew its position in Applied Materials by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 3,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire increased its stake in Applied Materials by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 6,998 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,138,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in Applied Materials by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,388 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $155.68 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The stock 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. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $173.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.81. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.55 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna lifted 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. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One research 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.