Castleark Management LLC Lowers Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Castleark Management LLC cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 79.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 49,629 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 188,310 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $8,071,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were 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 directly owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This represents 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.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $165.73 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.65 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.12. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership 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. Shareholders 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 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 22.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AMAT. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.48.

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.