Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Reduces Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 65.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 178,762 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 333,618 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $29,072,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 59.1% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 45,378 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $7,380,000 after buying an additional 16,851 shares during the period. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $339,000. Rheos Capital Works Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 170,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $27,663,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 178,748 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $29,070,000 after buying an additional 10,081 shares during the period. Finally, Talbot Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 117,361 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $19,086,000 after buying an additional 5,124 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% 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 acquired 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $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. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.86.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of AMAT stock traded up $5.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $173.03. 8,532,413 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,785,377. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $165.62. 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 stock has a market cap of $140.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.62, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback 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 buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

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.