Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Bought by BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 14.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 157,864 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 19,707 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $25,673,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,617 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $793,000 after buying an additional 804 shares during the last quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 17,246 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,805,000 after buying an additional 2,536 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,965 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,452 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $887,000 after acquiring an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, B. Riley cut their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.48.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction 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 completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was 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 Stock Up 2.4%

Applied Materials stock traded up $3.84 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $161.35. 2,546,658 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,880,492. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The firm has a market cap of $131.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $150.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $164.15.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

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

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.