Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC Grows Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,978 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Applied Materials by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $340,895,000 after acquiring an additional 164,085 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $230,158,000 after acquiring an additional 15,183 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Applied Materials by 62.6% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,698,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $343,138,000 after purchasing an additional 653,739 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic raised its stake in Applied Materials by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 13,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 3,700 shares during the period. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in Applied Materials by 59.1% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 45,378 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,380,000 after purchasing an additional 16,851 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $155.68 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $173.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $180.81. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.55 and a 12-month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 1.03%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.92%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One 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 data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials Company 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.