DnB Asset Management AS Sells 55,625 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

DnB Asset Management AS decreased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 26.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 151,074 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 55,625 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $24,569,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 61.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm'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 owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on AMAT. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price 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 upgraded Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $214.67.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $0.05 during trading on Monday, reaching $145.01. 3,765,516 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,266,828. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $141.23 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $167.33 and a 200-day moving average of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. 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 1.27%. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.05%.

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.