Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 30.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,315 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 305 shares during the quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $214,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 8,808 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Hendley & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 45.2% in the fourth quarter. Hendley & Co. Inc. now owns 31,356 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,099,000 after purchasing an additional 9,757 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 145.6% during the fourth quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $544,000 after buying an additional 1,985 shares during the period. BHK Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. BHK Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,847 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $626,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millington Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,513,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AMAT. Susquehanna increased their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup upped their price target 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. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned 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.

Insider Activity

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

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $165.54 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $175.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $183.56. The stock has a market cap of $134.53 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $158.96 and a 12 month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted 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%. On average, equities analysts expect 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. 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 0.97%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.92%.

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.