Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Bought by NewEdge Advisors LLC

NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 242,248 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,111 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $39,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $12,528,961,000 after buying an additional 487,358 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,260,178,000 after buying an additional 253,078 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $1,588,422,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,356,094,000 after acquiring an additional 587,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,655,308 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,082,353,000 after buying an additional 84,130 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $210.29.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of AMAT stock traded down $0.73 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $137.46. The company had a trading volume of 6,485,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,643,842. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.68 billion, a PE ratio of 17.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company's fifty day moving average is $152.67 and its 200 day moving average is $170.78.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

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.