Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Whittier Trust Co.

Whittier Trust Co. lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 332,530 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 27,919 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises approximately 0.7% of Whittier Trust Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Whittier Trust Co.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $54,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,808,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $7,841,178,000 after buying an additional 672,548 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,826,373 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,994,968,000 after purchasing an additional 371,866 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,413,112 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,316,269,000 after purchasing an additional 858,122 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,861,933 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,790,554,000 after purchasing an additional 318,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,655,308 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,082,353,000 after buying an additional 84,130 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

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Applied Materials Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of AMAT stock traded up $2.83 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $154.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,853,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,887,308. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $170.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.68. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.37 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.