Sienna Gestion Reduces Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sienna Gestion reduced its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 20.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 112,800 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 29,414 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 1.2% of Sienna Gestion’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Sienna Gestion’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $18,342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Carret Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 35,180 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,721,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 24,629 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,005,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,651,000. Blume Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc. now owns 39,989 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,503,000 after acquiring an additional 787 shares during the period. Finally, Aviso Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 157.2% in the 4th quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 4,560 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $742,000 after acquiring an additional 2,787 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $149.95 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $121.83 billion, a PE ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. 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’s fifty day moving average is $172.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.64.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.