Distillate Capital Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Distillate Capital Partners LLC lowered its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 40.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 170,261 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 115,585 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up approximately 1.4% of Distillate Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Distillate Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $27,690,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $213.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related 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 price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Up 4.8 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $144.94 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $117.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. 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 moving average price of $156.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.74. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. This is a positive change 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 presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.