Fmr LLC Trims Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Fmr LLC lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 42.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,429,913 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 6,983,199 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned about 1.16% of Applied Materials worth $1,533,587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 18.0% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 59,700 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $12,062,000 after acquiring an additional 9,100 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 70,217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $14,187,000 after purchasing an additional 11,365 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth approximately $2,006,000. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth approximately $784,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.67.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $126.95 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $103.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, 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 current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.20. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $121.86 and a 1-year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

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 dividend of $0.46 per share. 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 1.45%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials 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.