Vident Advisory LLC Sells 8,080 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Vident Advisory LLC lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 68,972 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 8,080 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $11,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vivaldi Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $18,779,000. Twinbeech Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $954,000. Triglav Skladi D.O.O. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $2,115,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 756.1% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 511,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $83,120,000 after purchasing an additional 451,400 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 10,767.6% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,347,580 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $219,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335,180 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $165.94 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $134.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.69, a PEG 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. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.12.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company’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 directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the company’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 completion of 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. Citigroup increased their target price on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.48.

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.