Schrum Private Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,050 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Schrum Private Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 25.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,050 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,050 shares during the period. Schrum Private Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 341.0% in the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,857,155 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $577,288,000 after purchasing an additional 2,209,218 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 67.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,663,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $942,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,153 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $182,962,000. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $157,426,000. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE raised its position in Applied Materials by 126.6% during the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 1,600,078 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $260,221,000 after purchasing an additional 893,995 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several research reports. Susquehanna raised their price target on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho cut their price target 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 cut their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $155.32 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $174.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.78. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.55 and a 12-month 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 firm has a market capitalization of $126.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.92%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.