Phoenix Financial Ltd. Cuts Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Phoenix Financial Ltd. decreased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 25.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,920 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 19,411 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $9,258,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. F M Investments LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Evexia Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $312,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1,069.9% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,079,977 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $175,637,000 after purchasing an additional 987,660 shares during the period. Waddell & Associates LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 46.4% in the 4th quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 3,315 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 611.5% during the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 824,407 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $129,477,000 after purchasing an additional 708,541 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. KeyCorp raised 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. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target 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, Barclays dropped their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.67.

Applied Materials Trading Up 16.1 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $149.73 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $158.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.51. The stock has a market capitalization 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67.

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 net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. As a group, research 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 repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. 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. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.05%.

About Applied Materials

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.