Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 301.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,959,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 1,471,953 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC owned about 0.24% of Applied Materials worth $318,754,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $1,588,422,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $182,962,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1,069.9% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,079,977 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $175,637,000 after buying an additional 987,660 shares during the last quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $157,426,000. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 126.6% in the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 1,600,078 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $260,221,000 after acquiring an additional 893,995 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on AMAT. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of 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. Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were 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 approximately $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of AMAT stock traded down $2.26 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $147.29. 2,067,742 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,678,733. 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's fifty day simple moving average is $148.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.82. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $119.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.25, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase 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 usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.