Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 17,150 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Wellington Management Group LLP trimmed its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 15.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 92,203 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 17,150 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $14,995,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 25,448 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $4,504,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Okabena Investment Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 204.8% in the fourth quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 7,601 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,236,000 after purchasing an additional 5,107 shares in the last quarter. Allianz SE acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $1,897,000. Finally, Allstate Corp acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $3,951,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $6.70 on Friday, hitting $144.94. The stock had a trading volume of 10,614,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,612,553. The stock has a market cap of $117.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The business's 50 day moving average is $156.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (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%. Analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup decreased their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $213.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the chief executive officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

About Applied Materials

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.