Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Has $144.98 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 891,447 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 19,875 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.11% of Applied Materials worth $144,976,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased 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 valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT traded up $2.83 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $154.95. The company had a trading volume of 5,853,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,887,305. 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 company has a market capitalization of $125.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.25, a P/E/G 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 company's 50-day moving average is $170.32 and its 200-day moving average is $177.86.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes 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 shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company 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 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 of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Citigroup increased their price target on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.38.

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.