Isthmus Partners LLC Purchases 1,420 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Isthmus Partners LLC increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,032 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares during the period. Isthmus Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $9,926,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Applied Materials by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $857,615,000 after acquiring an additional 108,827 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 32.1% during the third quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,688 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,626 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 55,149 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $11,142,000 after buying an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,726,000. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 18.0% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,352 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $677,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $155.68 on Monday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.55 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $173.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $180.81. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $126.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 20.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average 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.