Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC Has $17.95 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2,187.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.48.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $165.57 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $149.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.49. The firm has a market cap of $134.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.64, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.