Financial Counselors Inc. Sells 525 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Financial Counselors Inc. reduced its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 108,291 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 525 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $17,611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $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 stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.8 %

AMAT opened at $153.64 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.37 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $124.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $169.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. 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 report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.