Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Has $95.24 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 11.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 656,296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 85,893 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned 0.08% of Applied Materials worth $95,242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. Value Partners Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 40.8% during the first quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 13,934 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,023,000 after buying an additional 4,038 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 43.6% during the 1st quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,822 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares during the last quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $5,495,000. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 4.8% in the first quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 5,643 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $819,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 122.8% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,581 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,391,000 after purchasing an additional 5,280 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction 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 approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price target (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Applied Materials from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $162.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $200.24.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $183.21. The stock had a trading volume of 14,201,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,042,570. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $163.22. 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 capitalization of $147.03 billion, a PE ratio of 22.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. Applied Materials's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. 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.