7,480,703 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Acquired by Nuveen LLC

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has invested approximately $1.09 billion in Applied Materials, acquiring over 7.48 million shares during the first quarter.
• Other institutional investors have made significant increases in their positions, with Pacer Advisors raising its stake by 2,401% and GAMMA Investing by 18,402% in the same period.
• Applied Materials recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 1.0%, with a payout ratio of 22.38%.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 7,480,703 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,085,600,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.92% of Applied Materials as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 972.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on AMAT. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 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 research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.09.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock traded down $0.49 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $184.38. 7,813,506 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,234,765. The stock's fifty day moving average is $182.16 and its 200-day moving average is $166.39. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $215.70. The stock has a market cap of $147.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.43, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.