Ethic Inc. Acquires 21,158 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 21.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 121,205 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 21,158 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $19,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 9.4% during 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 period. Park National Corp OH raised its position in Applied Materials by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 1,355 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 392.2% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 443 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 229.6% in the fourth quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 5,497 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $894,000 after purchasing an additional 3,829 shares during the period. Finally, CCM Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 97,007 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $15,776,000 after purchasing an additional 13,272 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $155.69. The company had a trading volume of 3,884,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,758,525. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $147.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $165.75. The stock has a market cap of $126.49 billion, a PE ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. 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 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders 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 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. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired 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 directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, 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. One investment 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.86.

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.