iA Global Asset Management Inc. Grows Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 101,883 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 3,628 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $16,569,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.38.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $2.83 during trading on Monday, reaching $154.95. The company had a trading volume of 5,853,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,887,308. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $170.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.68. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.37 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. 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%.

Applied Materials announced 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 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire 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 shares are undervalued.

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.