William Blair Investment Management LLC Sells 14,074 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

William Blair Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 97,819 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 14,074 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $15,908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 153,781 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $25,010,000 after buying an additional 1,019 shares in the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $596,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 977 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 221.3% during the 4th quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 2,768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Provident Co of the Employees of the Hebrew University LTD bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $1,399,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein 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, November 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.9 %

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $2.83 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $154.95. 5,853,669 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,887,304. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. The business's 50-day moving average is $170.32 and its 200-day moving average is $177.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $145.37 and a twelve month high of $255.89.

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 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved 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 purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors 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. Stockholders 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 a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 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.