Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by United Capital Financial Advisors LLC

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,940 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 988 shares during the quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 2,800 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 69.9% in the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 4,829 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $785,000 after purchasing an additional 1,986 shares in the last quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc. now owns 32,485 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,283,000 after buying an additional 1,057 shares during the last quarter. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,730,000. Finally, Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,608,000 after buying an additional 793 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Mizuho decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Down 5.0 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $138.19 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.27 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. 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 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $154.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $171.64.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its 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 net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.