SGL Investment Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

SGL Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 21.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,210 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 869 shares during the quarter. SGL Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $522,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $174.75 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $141.97 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. B. Riley cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.38.

Applied Materials 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.