Westpac Banking Corp Acquires 5,421 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Westpac Banking Corp lifted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,386 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 5,421 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $9,333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Field & Main Bank boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 3,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 6,998 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,388 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,202,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,601 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,375,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mezzasalma Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 2,060 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT traded down $8.56 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $126.95. 15,559,633 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,363,196. The company has a market cap of $103.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.94 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm's fifty day moving average is $162.19 and its 200 day moving average is $175.37.

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, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. 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 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $214.67.

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.