Federated Hermes Inc. Reduces Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Federated Hermes Inc. lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 28.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 282,751 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 112,736 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $45,984,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Titleist Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $282,000. Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 201.5% in the 4th quarter. Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. now owns 49,384 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,031,000 after purchasing an additional 33,002 shares in the last quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,318,000. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $1,409,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Up 4.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $132.85 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $107.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a 50 day moving average of $161.36 and a 200-day moving average of $174.75.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.67.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.