Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Holdings Lifted by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 487,358 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.48% of Applied Materials worth $12,528,961,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,808,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,841,178,000 after acquiring an additional 672,548 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,826,373 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,994,968,000 after acquiring an additional 371,866 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,413,112 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,316,269,000 after buying an additional 858,122 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.7% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,861,933 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,790,554,000 after buying an additional 318,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,655,308 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,082,353,000 after buying an additional 84,130 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AMAT. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price target (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup upped their price target 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. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $152.12 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.37 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $170.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.59 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Applied Materials announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.