Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. Sells 183,362 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lowered its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 27.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. 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.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $77,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisory Resource Group increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 24,867 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,024,000 after acquiring an additional 4,561 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 3.7% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,746 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $757,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co increased its stake in Applied Materials by 26.4% in the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 47,649 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,627,000 after purchasing an additional 9,941 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 70.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,845 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,989,000 after purchasing an additional 4,073 shares during the period. Finally, Sfmg LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 54,967 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $11,106,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Up 4.8 %

AMAT stock opened at $144.94 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $117.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $156.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. 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 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. KeyCorp raised 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $213.14.

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.