OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 21.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,344 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 2,879 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,682,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $340,895,000 after purchasing an additional 164,085 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic grew its position in Applied Materials by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 13,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,147,000 after buying an additional 3,700 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 59.1% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 45,378 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $7,380,000 after buying an additional 16,851 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $339,000. Finally, Rheos Capital Works Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 170,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $27,663,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.86.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $1.38 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $151.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,804,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,683,281. The stock has a market cap of $123.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $149.54 and a 200-day moving average of $168.57. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan 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 plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.