Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC Sells 36,674 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 48.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,467 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 36,674 shares during the quarter. Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $155.10 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $147.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.00. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $126.01 billion, a PE ratio of 20.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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 (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, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a stock buyback 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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 owns 6,479 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price target 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. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.86.

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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