Investment Management Corp of Ontario Cuts Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Investment Management Corp of Ontario decreased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 27.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 61,844 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 23,194 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $10,058,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $155.69 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.88. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $126.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 24.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value 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 $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AMAT. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.86.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.