Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $50.66 Million Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 349,062 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 7,832 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $50,656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,588,422,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 18,402.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,824,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,647,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,814,444 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Applied Materials by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,663,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 301.6% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,959,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $318,754,000 after buying an additional 1,471,953 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in Applied Materials by 10,767.6% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,347,580 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $219,157,000 after buying an additional 1,335,180 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $169.79 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $152.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.07. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $136.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The company 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%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on AMAT. Bank of America reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. B. Riley decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.29.

Applied Materials 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.