UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Reduces Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC decreased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,743,895 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 118,038 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 1.08% of Applied Materials worth $1,422,020,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rheos Capital Works Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 170,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $27,663,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 18,785 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,055,000 after acquiring an additional 6,364 shares during the last quarter. Skye Global Management LP acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $45,862,000. Cable Hill Partners LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 3,485 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 49.9% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 31,404 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $5,107,000 after purchasing an additional 10,459 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.48.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $165.94 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $149.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.82 billion, a PE ratio of 21.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 22.38%.

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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