Trillium Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Trillium Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 40,320 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,616 shares during the quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 61.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $154.46 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $171.16 and a 200 day moving average of $178.41. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.37 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on AMAT. Citigroup boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, KeyCorp raised 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

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.