Cottage Street Advisors LLC Sells 73 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Cottage Street Advisors LLC decreased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,035 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 73 shares during the period. Cottage Street Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $340,895,000 after acquiring an additional 164,085 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 62.6% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,698,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $343,138,000 after purchasing an additional 653,739 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 13,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 3,700 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in Applied Materials by 59.1% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 45,378 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,380,000 after buying an additional 16,851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $339,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $153.64 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $124.82 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $169.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.53. 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 $145.37 and a twelve month high of $255.89.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change 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 1.20%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AMAT. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.