Haverford Trust Co Decreases Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Haverford Trust Co reduced its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,262 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 86 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $530,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 61.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $153.64 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $124.82 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. 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 12-month low of $145.37 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho reduced their target price 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. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.