Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Buys 19,102 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 2,477.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,873 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 19,102 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,232,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on AMAT. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target 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 equities research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $210.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $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 Trading Down 1.4 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $135.55 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.91. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week 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 company has a market cap of $110.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share 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%. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 24.05%.

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

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.

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