Zacks Investment Management Decreases Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Zacks Investment Management lowered its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 388,274 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 29,075 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $63,145,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Susquehanna raised 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. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.24.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.6 %

AMAT stock opened at $145.45 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $155.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $171.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $118.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors 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 positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.