WoodTrust Financial Corp Sells 161 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

WoodTrust Financial Corp lessened its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,754 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 161 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for 1.6% of WoodTrust Financial Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. WoodTrust Financial Corp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $11,019,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 117,456 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $19,102,000 after purchasing an additional 5,472 shares during the period. Jag Capital Management LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 25,041 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,072,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,963,000. Ring Mountain Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $387,000. Finally, Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,334 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,681,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $152.87 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $174.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.20 billion, a PE ratio of 19.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.55 and a 52-week high of $255.89. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 20.92%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on AMAT. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein 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, November 29th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.