GLOBALT Investments LLC GA Has $1.64 Million Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,069 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 122 shares during the quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. 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 note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.8 %

AMAT opened at $155.66 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.46 billion, a PE ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $145.37 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $172.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $179.15.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted 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 net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program 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 reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 (DPR) is 24.05%.

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.