Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Purchases 12,000 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. by 6.6% in the first quarter, owning nearly 192,472 shares valued at approximately $27.93 million.
• A number of institutional investors have also made significant changes to their positions in Applied Materials, with some increasing their holdings by over 900% during the same period.
• Applied Materials announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, equating to an annual yield of 1.0%, to be paid on September 11th.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 192,472 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,000 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $27,932,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% during the first quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 435.0% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth approximately $44,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock traded down $26.48 on Friday, reaching $161.76. 31,753,938 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,199,587. The stock has a market cap of $129.81 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $215.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $184.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $166.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 41.31%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 21.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. B. Riley dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Summit Insights cut Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. DZ Bank cut Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $194.84.

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.