American Century Companies Inc. Sells 510,235 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

American Century Companies Inc. decreased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,379,099 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 510,235 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up 0.4% of American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.54% of Applied Materials worth $712,173,000 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 company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 61.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT traded down $2.96 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $150.68. The stock had a trading volume of 4,850,337 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,896,060. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.37 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $169.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.53. The company has a market capitalization of $122.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Remove Ads

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

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $164.00 target price (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $215.38.

About Applied Materials

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.