5,069 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Purchased by Potentia Wealth

Potentia Wealth acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 5,069 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $824,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $340,895,000 after acquiring an additional 164,085 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 62.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 13,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 3,700 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 59.1% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 45,378 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,380,000 after purchasing an additional 16,851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $339,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 target price (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $154.95 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $125.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $170.00 and its 200-day moving average is $177.68. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $145.37 and a one year 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 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%. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Company 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.