Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by World Investment Advisors

World Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 57.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,094 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,361 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors' holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,109,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $12,528,961,000 after buying an additional 487,358 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 253,078 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,663,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,588,422,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 7.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 587,036 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock traded down $0.27 during trading on Monday, hitting $190.78. The stock had a trading volume of 6,576,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,087,974. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company's 50-day moving average price is $167.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.94. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $153.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.21, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.69.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 22.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on AMAT. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. B. Riley decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Redburn Atlantic reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Nine 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, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $202.00.

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.