Jacobi Capital Management LLC Increases Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 51.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,785 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,364 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,055,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 44,252 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,197,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,295,324 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $535,919,000 after buying an additional 40,581 shares during the period. Finally, Maple Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. now owns 83,288 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,545,000 after purchasing an additional 14,419 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.9 %

AMAT opened at $158.07 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $175.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.03. 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 twelve month low of $153.95 and a twelve month high of $255.89. 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.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given 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 1.01%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 20.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed 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. Mizuho cut their target price 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, January 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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.