UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Decreases Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lowered its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,762 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 292 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for about 1.0% of UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s portfolio, 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 and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $319,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 3,815 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $771,000 after buying an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. Davis R M Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 4,293 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $867,000 after buying an additional 934 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its stake in Applied Materials by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 4,208 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $850,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 62.6% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,698,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $343,138,000 after acquiring an additional 653,739 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $153.64 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $169.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $145.37 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $124.82 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase 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 reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is 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 represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis 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 is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Mizuho decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective 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 equities 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.