Prudential PLC Decreases Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Prudential PLC reduced its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 28.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 102,924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 40,874 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $16,739,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,588,422,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 341.0% in the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,857,155 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $577,288,000 after purchasing an additional 2,209,218 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $182,962,000. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $157,426,000. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE lifted its position in Applied Materials by 126.6% during the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 1,600,078 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $260,221,000 after purchasing an additional 893,995 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 6.3 %

NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $8.56 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $126.95. The stock had a trading volume of 15,559,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,363,195. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $162.19 and a 200 day moving average of $175.37. The company has a market capitalization of $103.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $124.11 and a one year high of $255.89.

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Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut 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 report on Tuesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.