Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Has $104.41 Million Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 16.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 719,765 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 102,311 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned about 0.09% of Applied Materials worth $104,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. B. Riley reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $200.24.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade 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 corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $0.31 on Friday, reaching $183.21. The stock had a trading volume of 14,201,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,056,229. The business's 50-day moving average price is $163.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $147.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.67.

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 net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. Applied Materials's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid 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 1.00%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.