Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,643,643 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 312,857 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $592,566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Family Legacy Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Family Legacy Inc. now owns 26,970 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,773,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. now owns 2,420 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 15,444 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,512,000 after purchasing an additional 2,130 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,356,094,000 after buying an additional 587,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 3,956 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $645,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” 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 for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.67.

Insider Activity

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 value of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.0 %

AMAT stock opened at $145.12 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $141.16 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $166.39 and its 200 day moving average is $176.57. The firm has a market cap of $117.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS 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%. On average, research 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership 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.