Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 59.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 52,729 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 76,219 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $8,575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, 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. One equities 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 data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, 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 purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $1.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $154.17. 1,355,964 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,703,262. 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's fifty day moving average price is $147.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $166.45. The company has a market cap of $125.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 given a dividend of $0.46 per share. 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. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Company 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.