Meridian Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,597 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,548 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,597 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $857,615,000 after buying an additional 108,827 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 5.2% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,368 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,489,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 5,775 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares during the last quarter. F M Investments LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $437,000. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,709 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup upped their target price on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated 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 assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $152.13 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $175.07 and its 200-day moving average is $182.35. 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 52 week low of $150.67 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.60 billion, a PE ratio of 19.89, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date 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.