Accredited Investors Inc. Sells 2,028 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Accredited Investors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 42.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,730 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,028 shares during the quarter. Accredited Investors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $1,588,422,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $182,962,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 1,069.9% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,079,977 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $175,637,000 after buying an additional 987,660 shares during the period. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $157,426,000. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 126.6% during the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 1,600,078 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $260,221,000 after buying an additional 893,995 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 4.5 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $143.04 on Thursday. 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 fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits 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 board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.67.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by 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.