Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Acquires 259,271 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 53.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 743,774 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 259,271 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up about 0.8% of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. owned about 0.09% of Applied Materials worth $120,960,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Susquehanna increased 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. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $214.67.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related 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 transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company's stock, 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of AMAT traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $145.01. 3,765,516 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,266,828. The stock has a market cap of $117.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $167.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.23 and a twelve month high of $255.89.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 given a dividend of $0.46 per share. 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 is presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.