Voya Financial Advisors Inc. Purchases New Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Voya Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,551 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $908,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now 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. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $2.11 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $147.44. 2,335,069 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,679,520. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $148.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.79 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61.

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

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.86.

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.