49 Wealth Management LLC Sells 79 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

49 Wealth Management LLC lessened its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,689 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 79 shares during the period. 49 Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $162.23 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $149.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $165.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market cap of $131.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.21, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a boost 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 1.13%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 22.38%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a “mixed” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One equities research 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.48.

About Applied Materials

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.