Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD. Cuts Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD. trimmed its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 35.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,695,664 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 939,600 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for about 1.7% of Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD. owned approximately 0.21% of Applied Materials worth $275,766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $144.94 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $156.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.74. 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 $117.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.95, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. 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%. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated a stock 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 purchase 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.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays cut their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $213.14.

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.