Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Primecap Management Co. CA

Primecap Management Co. CA trimmed its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,596,280 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 146,003 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned approximately 0.32% of Applied Materials worth $422,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,808,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,841,178,000 after buying an additional 672,548 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,826,373 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,994,968,000 after purchasing an additional 371,866 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,413,112 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,316,269,000 after purchasing an additional 858,122 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.7% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,861,933 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,790,554,000 after purchasing an additional 318,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,655,308 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,082,353,000 after purchasing an additional 84,130 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on AMAT. Citigroup boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price 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 dropped 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, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $155.46 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The business’s 50-day moving average is $172.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.88. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.37 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program 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 programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the 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 owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.