Colonial Trust Advisors Sells 268 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Colonial Trust Advisors lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 56,041 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 268 shares during the quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $9,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Applied Materials by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $340,895,000 after buying an additional 164,085 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 13,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 3,700 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 59.1% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 45,378 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,380,000 after acquiring an additional 16,851 shares during the period. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $339,000. Finally, Rheos Capital Works Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 170,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $27,663,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. 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. Barclays lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Susquehanna upped their price target on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, January 17th. One 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 data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 directly 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $149.73 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $158.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $121.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share 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, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has initiated a stock 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 repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership 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.