Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Has $3.13 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 34.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,226 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 9,974 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Advisory Resource Group raised its stake in Applied Materials by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 24,867 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,024,000 after buying an additional 4,561 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.7% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,746 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $757,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 26.4% during the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 47,649 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $9,627,000 after purchasing an additional 9,941 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,845 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,989,000 after purchasing an additional 4,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sfmg LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 54,967 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $11,106,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction 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 $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Bank of America cut their price target 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. Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.29.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $137.46 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $153.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.20. 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, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business 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 is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

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.