D L Carlson Investment Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

D L Carlson Investment Group Inc. lowered its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 12.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,652 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 827 shares during the period. D L Carlson Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $919,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Applied Materials by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $340,895,000 after purchasing an additional 164,085 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 13,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,147,000 after buying an additional 3,700 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 59.1% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 45,378 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,380,000 after acquiring an additional 16,851 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $339,000. Finally, Rheos Capital Works Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 170,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $27,663,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.67.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $145.06 on Monday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $143.38 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $117.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $167.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.84. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

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.