Forum Financial Management LP Has $1.22 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Forum Financial Management LP lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 18.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,481 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,662 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 6,338 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,031,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares during the period. Belmont Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $651,000. Capital International Ltd. CA boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 144.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA now owns 31,095 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,057,000 after buying an additional 18,352 shares in the last quarter. Cadence Bank increased its stake in Applied Materials by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 110,072 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $17,901,000 after acquiring an additional 1,603 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 140.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD. now owns 6,656 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 3,888 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.29.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.5 %

AMAT stock opened at $137.46 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $111.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $152.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.78.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. 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. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has authorized 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 repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.