Snowden Capital Advisors LLC Has $2.06 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Snowden Capital Advisors LLC lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 14.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,639 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 2,172 shares during the period. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,055,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays cut their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.48.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $4.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $156.21. 2,107,671 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,866,906. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $164.96. The firm has a market cap of $126.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 22.38%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has approved a share buyback program 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 reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company 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.