Boston Partners Sells 619,757 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Boston Partners lessened its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 25.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,825,872 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 619,757 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned about 0.22% of Applied Materials worth $299,577,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AMAT. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $155.46 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $172.10 and its 200-day moving average is $178.88. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.37 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate 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.