LSV Asset Management Lowers Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

LSV Asset Management trimmed its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,357,768 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 118,572 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $220,814,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,035 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $193,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $374,000. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,311 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,919 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,194,000 after acquiring an additional 1,952 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,165 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,431,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $149.73 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $121.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $158.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.67.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.