Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by Achmea Investment Management B.V.

Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 24.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 163,545 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 32,124 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $26,597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Remove Ads

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT traded up $0.89 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $149.95. 5,700,387 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,870,523. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. 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 12-month low of $145.37 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $172.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $179.64.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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 issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. 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 is presently 24.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $164.00 price target (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.38.

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.