Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) is Blue Whale Capital LLP’s 6th Largest Position

Blue Whale Capital LLP lessened its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 36.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 482,211 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 275,191 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises approximately 5.8% of Blue Whale Capital LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Blue Whale Capital LLP owned 0.06% of Applied Materials worth $78,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,528,961,000 after acquiring an additional 487,358 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,260,178,000 after purchasing an additional 253,078 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $1,588,422,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Applied Materials by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,356,094,000 after buying an additional 587,036 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,655,308 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,082,353,000 after acquiring an additional 84,130 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, KeyCorp raised 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 report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.67.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $126.95 on Monday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $121.86 and a 12 month high of $255.89. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $103.14 billion, a PE ratio of 16.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $162.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.20.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is a boost 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 announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.24% of the stock is 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.