Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Boosts Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 342,446 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,620 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $49,696,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Norges Bank bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $1,588,422,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 18,402.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,824,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,647,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,814,444 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,663,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602,645 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 301.6% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,959,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $318,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471,953 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 10,767.6% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,347,580 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $219,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335,180 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were 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 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. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.2%

AMAT stock traded up $0.45 during trading on Thursday, hitting $183.52. 5,195,919 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,005,185. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. The company has a 50-day moving average of $161.25 and a 200-day moving average of $163.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.67. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Mizuho cut their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Seven equities research 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 company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $200.24.

About Applied Materials

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.