Boston Partners Has $299.58 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Boston Partners cut its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 25.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,825,872 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 619,757 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned approximately 0.22% of Applied Materials worth $299,577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $857,615,000 after buying an additional 108,827 shares in the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 4,324 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $874,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC now owns 14,445 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,919,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Planning Directions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Directions Inc. now owns 2,023 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $409,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GLOBALT Investments LLC GA raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA now owns 10,191 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,059,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $164.00 target price (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $2.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $152.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,887,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,879,209. The stock has a market cap of $123.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $145.37 and a one year high of $255.89. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $170.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.93.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 anticipate 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 stock repurchase 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 reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are 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 dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials 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.