Platinum Investment Management Ltd. Reduces Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Platinum Investment Management Ltd. decreased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 33.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,536 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,735 shares during the quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,226,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $340,895,000 after acquiring an additional 164,085 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 62.6% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,698,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $343,138,000 after purchasing an additional 653,739 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 13,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 3,700 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 59.1% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 45,378 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,380,000 after purchasing an additional 16,851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $339,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $153.51 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $145.37 and a one year high of $255.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $171.61 and a 200 day moving average of $178.57. The company has a market capitalization of $124.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

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.