Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC.

Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. decreased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 66.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,365 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 109,443 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $9,167,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Field & Main Bank grew its position in Applied Materials by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 3,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,601 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,375,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 2,060 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 3,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $607,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 1,862 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “mixed” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.48.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $165.94 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $134.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.12.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 22.38%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the acquisition, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.