EP Wealth Advisors LLC Has $10.47 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,369 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,848 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $10,468,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. 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 note on Friday, March 28th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. One equities 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.86.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $156.15 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $166.38. The company has a market cap of $126.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. On average, 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 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade 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.

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.