Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC Buys 105,523 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 2,187.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 110,347 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 105,523 shares during the quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $17,946,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,588,422,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,663,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602,645 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 301.6% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,959,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $318,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,471,953 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $182,962,000. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,913,942 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $636,524,000 after acquiring an additional 1,056,787 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.48.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $165.73. The company had a trading volume of 5,358,752 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,872,397. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $149.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.12. The company has a market capitalization of $134.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

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.