Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Acquires 6,241 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 344,063 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 6,241 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for about 0.9% of Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $55,955,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $857,615,000 after purchasing an additional 108,827 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,223 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,672,000 after buying an additional 1,531 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 98,484 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $19,899,000 after buying an additional 15,755 shares in the last quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 11,404 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,304,000 after acquiring an additional 1,578 shares during the period. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $794,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Applied Materials Trading Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $2.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $152.12. The company had a trading volume of 15,887,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,884,172. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.37 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $123.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The business's fifty day moving average is $170.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.24.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share 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, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.46 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized 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 repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and set a $164.00 price target (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded 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 research report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.38.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.