Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Acquired by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 150,438 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 13,412 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $24,497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $12,528,961,000 after purchasing an additional 487,358 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,260,178,000 after buying an additional 253,078 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,588,422,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 7.6% in the 4th 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 grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% in 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 currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock traded down $0.98 on Tuesday, hitting $149.82. The company had a trading volume of 2,303,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,667,625. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $121.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $149.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.94. 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 earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) 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 predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.