IFM Investors Pty Ltd Raises Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 8.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 174,332 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 14,229 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $25,299,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $12,528,961,000 after buying an additional 487,358 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,260,178,000 after buying an additional 253,078 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake 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 worth $1,663,780,000 after buying an additional 1,602,645 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $1,588,422,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,356,094,000 after buying an additional 587,036 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. B. Riley lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $200.76.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.4%

Applied Materials stock traded up $0.85 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $190.86. The stock had a trading volume of 3,568,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,077,976. The company has a market cap of $153.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.22, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.69. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $167.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.94. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during 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 firm's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program 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 programs are typically a sign that the company's board 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

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.