AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Decreases Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lessened its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,374 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,818 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 17,246 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,805,000 after buying an additional 2,536 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,603,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after buying an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,303,000. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 37,990 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,178,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.48.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $161.74 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $151.08 and a 200 day moving average of $163.32. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $129.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 22.38%.

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.