Groupama Asset Managment Trims Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Groupama Asset Managment reduced its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,110 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 61.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $145.66 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.04, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $165.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.27. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $141.16 and a 12 month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently 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.