Brown Advisory Inc. Acquires 7,328 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 79,242 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,328 shares during the quarter. Brown Advisory Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $12,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $153.03 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $147.17 and a 200 day moving average of $166.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

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

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 issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the 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 purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This trade 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 owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AMAT. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup cut their price target on Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.86.

Applied Materials 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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