Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Acquires 1,471,953 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 301.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,959,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,471,953 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC owned about 0.24% of Applied Materials worth $318,754,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Advisory Resource Group boosted 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 valued at $5,024,000 after acquiring an additional 4,561 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.7% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,746 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $757,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 26.4% in the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 9,941 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 70.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 4,073 shares during the period. Finally, Sfmg LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the third quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 54,967 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $11,106,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.86.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $1.38 during trading on Friday, reaching $151.55. 4,804,419 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,683,281. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $149.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $168.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $123.13 billion, a PE ratio of 19.81, a PEG 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 (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%. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid 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 yield of 1.21%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.