Pathstone Holdings LLC Has $20.23 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Pathstone Holdings LLC decreased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 124,311 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 6,634 shares during the quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $20,232,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $12,528,961,000 after purchasing an additional 487,358 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 253,078 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,663,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $1,588,422,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of 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. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Trading Down 5.3%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $9.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $165.57. 16,506,320 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,872,339. The business has a 50 day moving average of $149.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $134.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has authorized 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 repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. 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 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AMAT. Barclays decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.48.

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.