Schnieders Capital Management LLC Acquires 2,870 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Schnieders Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 54.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,154 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,870 shares during the quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock opened at $168.51 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $175.59 and its 200-day moving average is $183.46. 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 company has a market cap of $136.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $158.96 and a twelve month high of $255.89.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 20.92%.

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.