Progressive Investment Management Corp Lowers Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Progressive Investment Management Corp reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,067 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 509 shares during the quarter. Progressive Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,101,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $1,588,422,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 341.0% during the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,857,155 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $577,288,000 after acquiring an additional 2,209,218 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 67.8% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $182,962,000. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $157,426,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.67.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $145.06 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.12 and a twelve 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 company has a market capitalization of $117.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $167.33 and its 200 day moving average is $176.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 24.05%.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.