Platinum Investment Management Ltd. Reduces Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Platinum Investment Management Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 33.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,536 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,735 shares during the quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,226,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.8% during the third 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 lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,826,373 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,994,968,000 after purchasing an additional 371,866 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,413,112 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,316,269,000 after purchasing an additional 858,122 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 318,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,655,308 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,082,353,000 after purchasing an additional 84,130 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $153.51 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $124.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $171.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.57. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.37 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 24.05%.

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

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.