Dupont Capital Management Corp Has $7.30 Million Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Dupont Capital Management Corp raised its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 7.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 50,311 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 3,411 shares during the quarter. Dupont Capital Management Corp's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.29.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $3.38 during trading on Friday, hitting $169.46. 18,385,582 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,005,164. 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 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.67. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $159.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $162.95.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period last 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

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.