TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Cuts Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lessened its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 18.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,023 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 7,796 shares during the quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Field & Main Bank lifted its holdings 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 worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Bank of New Hampshire increased its position 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 valued at $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,388 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,601 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,375,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during 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 own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Susquehanna raised their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.86.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $2.69 on Monday, reaching $148.86. 1,181,435 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,661,741. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $149.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. 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 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.05%.

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.