Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Bought by Ancora Advisors LLC

Ancora Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 15.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,391 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 2,997 shares during the quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 70.6% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,845 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,989,000 after buying an additional 4,073 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 9.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,118,152 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $225,923,000 after purchasing an additional 96,009 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Applied Materials by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $340,895,000 after acquiring an additional 164,085 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic boosted its position in Applied Materials by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 13,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 3,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 13,816 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,247,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price 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. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.86.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $3.12 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $156.15. 5,498,873 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,733,421. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $166.45. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 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%. Analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. 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. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 24.05%.

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.