Sfmg LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sfmg LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 52,443 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,524 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for 0.7% of Sfmg LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Sfmg LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $8,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $152.12 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $145.37 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a 50-day moving average of $170.32 and a 200 day moving average of $177.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a PEG 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

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.