Insight Inv LLC Has $1.75 Million Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Insight Inv LLC reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,771 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 478 shares during the period. Insight Inv LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,752,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,327,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,439 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position 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 buying an additional 164,085 shares during the period. WoodTrust Financial Corp boosted its position in Applied Materials by 47.0% during the 3rd quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 67,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $13,722,000 after buying an additional 21,699 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $230,158,000 after acquiring an additional 15,183 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake 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 valued at $343,138,000 after acquiring an additional 653,739 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.71.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $186.75 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $158.96 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $174.00 and its 200-day moving average is $189.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.69, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

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.