Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 312,857 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,643,643 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 312,857 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.45% of Applied Materials worth $592,566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $145.12 on Tuesday. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $166.39 and a 200 day moving average of $176.57. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.16 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $117.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.97, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan 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 buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup raised their price target on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Mizuho reduced 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 report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.67.

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.