Great Lakes Advisors LLC Sells 903 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,595 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 903 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $155.66 on Friday. 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 $145.37 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $126.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.24.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 target price (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.