Intact Investment Management Inc. Increases Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 12.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares during the quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,673,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $12,528,961,000 after purchasing an additional 487,358 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,260,178,000 after purchasing an additional 253,078 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,588,422,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased 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 acquiring an additional 587,036 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

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 shares were bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.5%

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $2.50 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $171.96. 6,261,006 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,006,784. The company has a fifty day moving average of $159.11 and a 200 day moving average of $162.89. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $255.89. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $138.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.67.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on AMAT. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Applied Materials from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $162.00 to $158.00 in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.29.

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.