Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Position Lessened by Corebridge Financial Inc.

Corebridge Financial Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 267,675 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 9,841 shares during the quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $43,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 61.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $152.12 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.59 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The company’s 50-day moving average is $170.32 and its 200-day moving average is $177.86. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.37 and a fifty-two week 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.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) 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 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid 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 an increase 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 presently 24.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.