Holderness Investments Co. Reduces Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Holderness Investments Co. cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,951 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,970 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises approximately 2.4% of Holderness Investments Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Holderness Investments Co.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $10,726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $857,615,000 after purchasing an additional 108,827 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 1.0% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 19,290 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,898,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 29.6% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 18,472 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,734,000 after buying an additional 4,215 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,680,000. Finally, Commerce Bank grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 52,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $10,611,000 after acquiring an additional 2,838 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $154.46 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market cap of $125.49 billion, a PE ratio of 20.19, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The company’s fifty day moving average is $171.16 and its 200 day moving average is $178.41. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.37 and a 52 week high of $255.89.

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

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their target price 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. Mizuho cut their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. KeyCorp upgraded 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. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

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.