B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Sells 2,116 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 17.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,113 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 2,116 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,645,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 17,246 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,805,000 after purchasing an additional 2,536 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,603,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 5,996 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $975,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 8,048 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,309,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT traded down $2.11 on Thursday, reaching $159.48. The company had a trading volume of 6,844,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,907,805. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $129.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $164.12.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.48.

About Applied Materials

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.