Advisors Asset Management Inc. Acquires 3,462 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,913 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,462 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,702,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Applied Materials by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,023,598 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $166,730,000 after purchasing an additional 27,459 shares during the last quarter. RD Lewis Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $582,000. Delphi Management Inc. MA boosted its position in Applied Materials by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 7,305 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,188,000 after buying an additional 1,052 shares during the period. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 344,063 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $55,955,000 after acquiring an additional 6,241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 153,781 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $25,010,000 after acquiring an additional 1,019 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $2.83 on Monday, reaching $154.95. The company had a trading volume of 5,853,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,887,304. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $170.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.86. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.37 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $164.00 target price (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of 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, Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $215.38.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.