Liberty Wealth Management LLC Sells 3,826 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Liberty Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 17.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 18,301 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,826 shares during the period. Liberty Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AMAT. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $146.99 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $173.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $180.06. 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 $119.42 billion, a PE ratio of 19.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.37 and a 12 month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. 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 payout ratio is presently 20.92%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback 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 repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.