Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC Has $1.87 Million Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,492 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 410 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for 1.2% of Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,869,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $1,588,422,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 341.0% during the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,857,155 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $577,288,000 after acquiring an additional 2,209,218 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $182,962,000. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $157,426,000. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 126.6% in the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 1,600,078 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $260,221,000 after acquiring an additional 893,995 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 6.3 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $126.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $162.19 and a 200-day moving average of $175.27. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.94 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $103.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 earnings per share 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 given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. 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 is 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan 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 purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on AMAT. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate 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.