Forum Financial Management LP Cuts Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Forum Financial Management LP trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 18.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,481 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,662 shares during the quarter. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Advisory Resource Group increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 22.5% during the third quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 24,867 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,024,000 after acquiring an additional 4,561 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,746 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 26.4% in the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 47,649 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,627,000 after acquiring an additional 9,941 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,845 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,989,000 after purchasing an additional 4,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sfmg LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the third quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 54,967 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $11,106,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on AMAT. Susquehanna upped their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $137.46 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $152.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The company has a market capitalization of $111.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm 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 1.34%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans 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.