Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Has $27.57 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 169,553 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 18,241 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for about 0.7% of Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $27,574,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in 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 worth $340,895,000 after acquiring an additional 164,085 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 62.6% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 653,739 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 3,700 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 16,851 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $339,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

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Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related 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 value of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $2.83 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $154.95. 5,853,669 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,887,308. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $145.37 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The business's fifty day moving average price is $170.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.68. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, 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 note 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.38.

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.