Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. trimmed its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 27.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 475,045 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 183,362 shares during the quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. owned about 0.06% of Applied Materials worth $77,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 4.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $5.89 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $139.56. The stock had a trading volume of 2,447,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,603,543. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $113.38 billion, a PE ratio of 18.24, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $155.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $171.87. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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. 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 represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $210.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.