Voya Investment Management LLC Trims Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Voya Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 55.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 641,854 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 791,005 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned about 0.08% of Applied Materials worth $104,385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock traded down $2.26 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $147.29. 2,067,742 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,678,655. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $119.66 billion, a PE ratio of 19.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $148.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.82. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. On average, equities 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 approved a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders 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 represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of 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 cut their target price 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. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.86.

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.