American Century Companies Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

American Century Companies Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,379,099 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 510,235 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises approximately 0.4% of American Century Companies Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.54% of Applied Materials worth $712,173,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $152.12 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $170.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.93. 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 company has a market capitalization of $123.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a PEG 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. 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. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.38.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.