Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Position Reduced by Colonial Trust Advisors

Colonial Trust Advisors reduced its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 56,041 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 268 shares during the quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $9,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $12,528,961,000 after purchasing an additional 487,358 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,260,178,000 after purchasing an additional 253,078 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,588,422,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,356,094,000 after acquiring an additional 587,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in 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 valued at $1,082,353,000 after acquiring an additional 84,130 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on AMAT. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price 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. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.67.

Applied Materials Stock Up 16.1 %

AMAT stock opened at $149.73 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $158.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $173.51. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $121.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business 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 is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 24.05%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by 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.