RWA Wealth Partners LLC Has $2.10 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

RWA Wealth Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,914 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 259 shares during the period. RWA Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,100,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company’s 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 owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.67.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.0 %

AMAT stock opened at $145.12 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $166.39 and a 200-day moving average of $176.57. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.16 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $117.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.97, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

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.