Mizuho Securities USA LLC Acquires 24,445 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 45.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 78,135 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 24,445 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $12,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 164,085 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Applied Materials by 62.6% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,698,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $343,138,000 after buying an additional 653,739 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 38.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake 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 worth $7,380,000 after acquiring an additional 16,851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $339,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $2.96 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $150.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,850,337 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,896,060. The stock has a market cap of $122.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $169.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $177.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $145.37 and a twelve month 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

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 issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on AMAT. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.38.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

About Applied Materials

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.