Summit Global Investments Has $534,000 Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Summit Global Investments lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 88.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 24,631 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $534,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 61.4% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $154.95 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $170.00 and a 200 day moving average of $177.68. The company has a market capitalization of $125.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.37 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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 payout ratio is 24.05%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Mizuho lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through 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.