Crestwood Advisors Group LLC Has $40.13 Million Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 326,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,858 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises 1.3% of Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $40,125,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 18,113 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,764,000 after buying an additional 2,108 shares during the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $50,000. Mcdonald Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth $204,000. Claro Advisors LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 109.7% in the 4th quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 4,931 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 2,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 3,563 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. New Street Research lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.08.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT traded up $1.23 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $153.99. The company had a trading volume of 3,693,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,075,166. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.30. The company has a market capitalization of $129.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.60. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $71.12 and a twelve month high of $154.54. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $144.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $129.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 17th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.16. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.27% and a return on equity of 49.29%. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 7.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 24th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 23rd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 16.89%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 1,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.04, for a total transaction of $150,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 106,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,907,690.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.04, for a total transaction of $150,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 106,023 shares in the company, valued at $15,907,690.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Timothy M. Deane sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.30, for a total transaction of $1,029,750.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 100,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,834,210.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,500 shares of company stock worth $2,599,790 in the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. It 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.