Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. Trims Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. cut its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,059 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 3,138 shares during the quarter. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $13,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $340,895,000 after purchasing an additional 164,085 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 13,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,147,000 after acquiring an additional 3,700 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 59.1% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 45,378 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $7,380,000 after acquiring an additional 16,851 shares during the period. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $339,000. Finally, Rheos Capital Works Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 170,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $27,663,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Up 4.2 %

Shares of AMAT stock traded up $5.98 on Thursday, reaching $149.56. 2,953,214 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,643,841. The company has a market capitalization of $121.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The business's 50 day moving average price is $150.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.51. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This is a boost 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 dividend yield of 1.23%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.86.

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.