43,154 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Acquired by Nuance Investments LLC

Nuance Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 43,154 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,018,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,528,961,000 after acquiring an additional 487,358 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,808,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,841,178,000 after purchasing an additional 672,548 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,826,373 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,994,968,000 after buying an additional 371,866 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,413,112 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,316,269,000 after buying an additional 858,122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 3.7% in 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 valued at $1,790,554,000 after buying an additional 318,445 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased 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 report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 target price (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One equities 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $153.64 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $169.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $145.37 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $124.82 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.46 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.05%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.