Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,762 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 292 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises 1.0% of UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $16,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 61.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $153.64 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.37 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.53. The company has a market capitalization of $124.82 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays cut their price objective on 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. Citigroup increased their target price on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced 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, November 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.