Royal Bank of Canada Purchases 678,510 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 22.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,636,546 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 678,510 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.45% of Applied Materials worth $591,412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $0.21 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $165.73. 5,358,752 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,872,397. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $134.65 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.12. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The firm's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.48.

Applied Materials Company 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.