Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 18.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,023 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 7,796 shares during the quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,696,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 8.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 164,085 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic raised its position in Applied Materials by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 13,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,147,000 after acquiring an additional 3,700 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 59.1% during 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. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $339,000. Finally, Rheos Capital Works Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 170,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $27,663,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $138.30 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $150.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.69. The firm has a market cap of $112.36 billion, a PE ratio of 18.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $255.89. 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 (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, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 24.05%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.86.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AMAT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.