Focus Partners Wealth Sells 45,745 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Focus Partners Wealth lowered its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 53.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,071 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 45,745 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,354,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $173.03 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $147.95 and its 200-day moving average is $165.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.62, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on AMAT. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.86.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently 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. 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.