Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. Has $77.27 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. decreased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 27.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund 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 approximately 0.06% of Applied Materials worth $77,272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Monetary Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 1,675 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Heritage Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $223,000. Argent Trust Co grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 43.9% in the fourth quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 16,956 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,757,000 after purchasing an additional 5,171 shares during the last quarter. First Foundation Advisors increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 98,650 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $16,043,000 after purchasing an additional 1,608 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 429,111 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $69,786,000 after purchasing an additional 2,429 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought 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 directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $213.14.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $144.94 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $117.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $172.74. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.