American International Group Inc. Raises Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

American International Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 314,720 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,470 shares during the quarter. American International Group Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $51,007,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Aldebaran Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $211,000. Sycomore Asset Management increased its position in Applied Materials by 55.6% in the fourth quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 33,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,437,000 after purchasing an additional 11,825 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $7,274,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 132.7% in the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,704 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,707,000 after purchasing an additional 9,527 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 37,821 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,130,000 after buying an additional 6,001 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $1,597,650.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 78,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,000 shares of company stock worth $6,598,500. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on AMAT. B. Riley lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Monday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $219.04.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $237.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,306,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,144,476. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $238.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $211.62 and its 200-day moving average is $189.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The firm has a market cap of $196.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

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.