Congress Wealth Management LLC DE Has $9.61 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE cut its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 31.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,104 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 27,250 shares during the period. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $9,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Twin City Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $459,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,528,961,000 after purchasing an additional 487,358 shares in the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 225.5% during the fourth quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 4,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 2,970 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 637,639 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $103,699,000 after buying an additional 80,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Markets Cayman LP grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 93.5% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP now owns 9,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,531,000 after buying an additional 4,550 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $154.95 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.37 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $170.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.68. The firm has a market cap of $125.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.25, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials 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.