Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD.

Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD. lowered its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 35.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,695,664 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 939,600 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for 1.7% of Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD. owned 0.21% of Applied Materials worth $275,766,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT traded down $0.73 during trading on Thursday, reaching $137.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,485,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,640,953. The company has a market cap of $111.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.97, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $154.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.64. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board 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 given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $210.29.

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.