Shell Asset Management Co. Raises Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Shell Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 45,351 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 583 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,375,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,588,422,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 18.6% during 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 during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 301.6% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,959,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $318,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471,953 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $182,962,000. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,913,942 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $636,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,056,787 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. B. Riley dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays dropped 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the business’s 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 purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value 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. The trade was a 4.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.4%

AMAT stock opened at $174.75 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $148.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. The company has a market capitalization of $141.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 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 of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.