Crestwood Advisors Group LLC Has $58.19 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lowered its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 357,789 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,523 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up approximately 1.1% of Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $58,187,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $857,615,000 after purchasing an additional 108,827 shares during the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,456 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its position in Applied Materials by 19.7% during the third quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,294 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $671,000 after buying an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth approximately $241,000. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its position in Applied Materials by 11.3% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 9,045 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,828,000 after buying an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $171.98 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $175.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $183.90. The company has a market cap of $139.77 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $158.96 and a fifty-two 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup upped their price objective 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. TD Cowen decreased their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.