Sit Investment Associates Inc. Reduces Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sit Investment Associates Inc. cut its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 21.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 134,146 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 35,887 shares during the quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $21,816,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position 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 in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $126.95 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.94 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $103.14 billion, a PE ratio of 16.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.37.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target 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. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. 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. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.