Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 7,200 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 84.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,330 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 7,200 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 61.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.67.

Applied Materials Trading Down 8.3 %

AMAT opened at $135.51 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 $135.40 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.79.

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 predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm 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 a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan 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 repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, 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 value of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.