Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Sells 590,421 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD decreased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,882,245 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 590,421 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 0.48% of Applied Materials worth $631,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Field & Main Bank grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 3,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Bank of New Hampshire increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 6,998 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,138,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in Applied Materials by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,388 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,202,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,601 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,375,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mezzasalma Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 2,060 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.86.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock traded down $1.38 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $148.17. 1,541,178 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,676,786. The company has a market capitalization of $120.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $148.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.82. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.