Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Invests $49.97 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 307,269 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $49,971,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials 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 owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of AMAT traded down $0.49 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $154.61. 4,066,633 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,724,893. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The firm's fifty day moving average is $147.52 and its 200-day moving average is $166.77.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is 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.