Magnetar Financial LLC Sells 5,529 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Magnetar Financial LLC decreased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 72.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,079 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,529 shares during the quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $152.12 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.37 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $123.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $170.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback 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.