Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC Buys 856 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 37.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 856 shares during the quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $513,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AMAT. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $165.54 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $175.53 and a 200-day moving average of $183.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 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. The company has a market capitalization of $134.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, 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 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 20.92%.

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.