Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Baird Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 159,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 7,443 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $25,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Norges Bank bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $1,588,422,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,663,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602,645 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 301.6% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,959,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $318,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471,953 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $182,962,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 1,069.9% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,079,977 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $175,637,000 after buying an additional 987,660 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $154.61 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $147.24 and a 200-day moving average of $166.54. The company has a market cap of $125.61 billion, a PE ratio of 20.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Susquehanna upped their price target on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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 report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.86.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired 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 directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate 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.

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