Vanguard Group Inc. Has $12.53 Billion Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 487,358 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.09% of Applied Materials worth $12,528,961,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 341.0% during the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,857,155 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $577,288,000 after purchasing an additional 2,209,218 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 67.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,663,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $942,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,153 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $182,962,000. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $157,426,000. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 126.6% during the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 1,600,078 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $260,221,000 after purchasing an additional 893,995 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped 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 note on Friday, November 29th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $152.12 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.37 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan 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 plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.