Blueshift Asset Management LLC Sells 624 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 15.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 624 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $536,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in Applied Materials by 1.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 672,548 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in 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 worth $3,994,968,000 after acquiring an additional 371,866 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 5.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,413,112 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,316,269,000 after acquiring an additional 858,122 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 3.7% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 318,445 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,655,308 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,082,353,000 after acquiring an additional 84,130 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $154.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $145.37 and a one year high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $125.42 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $170.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.24.

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 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%. On average, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.19%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.38.

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.