Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by PGGM Investments

PGGM Investments trimmed its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 130,902 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 8,226 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments' holdings in Applied Materials were worth $21,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $340,895,000 after acquiring an additional 164,085 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Applied Materials by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,698,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $343,138,000 after purchasing an additional 653,739 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic raised its stake in Applied Materials by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 13,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 3,700 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 59.1% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 45,378 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $7,380,000 after purchasing an additional 16,851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $339,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.38.

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Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $149.06 on Thursday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $173.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.37 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $121.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. As a group, equities 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 stock buyback program 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 programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.92%.

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.

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