Earnest Partners LLC Sells 86,345 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Earnest Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 21.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 324,843 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 86,345 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $52,829,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Abrams Bison Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Abrams Bison Investments LLC now owns 875,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $142,301,000 after purchasing an additional 125,000 shares during the last quarter. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 69.8% during the 4th quarter. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. now owns 12,994 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,113,000 after purchasing an additional 5,340 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 36.2% during the 4th quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 1,844 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 43.4% in the fourth quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 3,407 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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. The trade was a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of 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 raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.86.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $151.55 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.81, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.32.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued 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 net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.46 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 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.