Evergreen Private Wealth LLC Has $6.28 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Evergreen Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 38,607 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 918 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises about 2.9% of Evergreen Private Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $151.54 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.55 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $174.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $181.57.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.92%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced 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. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Mizuho cut their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. 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. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

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.