Sterling Capital Management LLC Has $6.71 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sterling Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 21.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,270 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 11,027 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Monetary Management Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 13.6% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Heritage Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Argent Trust Co lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 43.9% in the 4th quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 16,956 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,757,000 after purchasing an additional 5,171 shares during the last quarter. First Foundation Advisors boosted its position in 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 grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 429,111 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $69,786,000 after purchasing an additional 2,429 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AMAT. Mizuho reduced 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $213.14.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $144.94 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. 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 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $156.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.74.

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

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 dividend yield of 1.27%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

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.