Alberta Investment Management Corp Boosts Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 61.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,600 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,300 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,409,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,378 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,992 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $724,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the period. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $298,000. Davis R M Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,753 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the period. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 63.3% in the 1st quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 16,384 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,378,000 after purchasing an additional 6,349 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $179.99 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $179.91 and a 200 day moving average of $166.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.70. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $215.70.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 22.38%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Barclays set a $170.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.17.

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.

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