Allstate Corp Acquires New Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Allstate Corp bought a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 24,294 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,951,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 61.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $145.23. 3,957,136 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,269,010. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.99 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.23 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. 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. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $164.00 price target (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $214.67.

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.