Distillate Capital Partners LLC Sells 115,585 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Distillate Capital Partners LLC decreased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 40.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 170,261 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 115,585 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for 1.4% of Distillate Capital Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Distillate Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $27,690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Advisory Resource Group increased its stake in Applied Materials by 22.5% in the third quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 24,867 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $5,024,000 after purchasing an additional 4,561 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,746 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $757,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 26.4% during the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 47,649 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $9,627,000 after buying an additional 9,941 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,845 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,989,000 after buying an additional 4,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sfmg LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 54,967 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $11,106,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. 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 report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $210.29.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $7.65 on Wednesday, hitting $137.80. The stock had a trading volume of 3,412,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,614,104. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $111.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The company's 50-day moving average is $155.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $171.87.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is 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 given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. 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 1.34%. 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.