Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC Raises Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,840 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 106 shares during the quarter. Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $787,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,528,961,000 after acquiring an additional 487,358 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,808,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,841,178,000 after purchasing an additional 672,548 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,826,373 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,994,968,000 after purchasing an additional 371,866 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.7% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,861,933 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,790,554,000 after buying an additional 318,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,655,308 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,082,353,000 after buying an additional 84,130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.9 %

AMAT opened at $150.68 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $169.05 and its 200-day moving average is $177.34. 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 52-week low of $145.37 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

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.