American Money Management LLC Sells 114 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

American Money Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,309 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 114 shares during the quarter. American Money Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,677,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 61.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $145.06 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.12 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $167.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.90. The stock has a market cap of $117.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released 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 net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program 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 repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a boost 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho cut their target price 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, January 10th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.67.

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.