Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC

Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 22.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,925 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 3,666 shares during the period. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 269.6% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,449 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 1,057 shares in the last quarter. Abrams Bison Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Abrams Bison Investments LLC now owns 875,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $142,301,000 after acquiring an additional 125,000 shares in the last quarter. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 69.8% in the fourth quarter. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. now owns 12,994 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,113,000 after acquiring an additional 5,340 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 36.2% during the fourth quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 1,844 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,793 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 1,374 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AMAT. Barclays dropped 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 report on Tuesday, April 22nd. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased 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 directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 4.1 %

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $6.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $155.10. 6,082,154 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,735,563. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $147.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.88. The company has a market capitalization of $126.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.27, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.