Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Sells 389 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,064 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 389 shares during the quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 16,068 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,613,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,825 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,761,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych boosted its position in Applied Materials by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 23,650 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,846,000 after purchasing an additional 9,100 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP grew its stake in Applied Materials by 229.9% in the fourth quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 10,076 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 7,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 70.4% in the fourth quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC now owns 6,044 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 2,497 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $158.07 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $175.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.03. The firm has a market cap of $128.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $153.95 and a one year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS 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%. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.