Symmetry Investments LP Has $651,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Symmetry Investments LP trimmed its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 96.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 109,000 shares during the quarter. Symmetry Investments LP's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $651,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.86.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $3.36 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $148.19. 2,008,550 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,665,000. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $149.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.32. The company has a market cap of $120.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program 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 programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.