Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by King Luther Capital Management Corp

King Luther Capital Management Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 37.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,532 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,505 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. Bank of America decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $149.95 on Friday. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $172.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $179.64. The company has a market cap of $121.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.37 and a 12-month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This is a boost 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 1.23%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.