Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 71.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 11,604 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $760,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 341.0% during the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,857,155 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $577,288,000 after buying an additional 2,209,218 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 67.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,663,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $942,187,000 after buying an additional 1,884,153 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $182,962,000. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $157,426,000. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 126.6% during the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 1,600,078 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $260,221,000 after acquiring an additional 893,995 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $152.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $123.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $170.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.89. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.37 and a 52 week high of $255.89. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. 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 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 24.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 target price (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven 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 a consensus target price of $215.38.

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.