Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. lessened its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,076 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 364 shares during the quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $9,120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,808,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,841,178,000 after purchasing an additional 672,548 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,826,373 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,994,968,000 after buying an additional 371,866 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,413,112 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,316,269,000 after buying an additional 858,122 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,861,933 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,790,554,000 after buying an additional 318,445 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,655,308 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,082,353,000 after acquiring an additional 84,130 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 target price (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $154.38 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $170.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.24. The company has a market capitalization of $125.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $145.37 and a twelve month high of $255.89. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

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.