Achmea Investment Management B.V. Raises Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 185.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 466,150 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 302,605 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for about 1.0% of Achmea Investment Management B.V.'s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Achmea Investment Management B.V. owned 0.06% of Applied Materials worth $67,648,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% during the first quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. B. Riley lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Applied Materials from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $162.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $200.24.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.2%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $183.52 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $147.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.67. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $162.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.38%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value 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 approximately $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 owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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