West Family Investments Inc. Buys 1,317 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

West Family Investments Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 111.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,498 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,317 shares during the quarter. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $151.54 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $174.18 and its 200 day moving average is $181.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. The company has a market capitalization of $123.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.55 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.92%.

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.