Mizuho Securities USA LLC Increases Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 45.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 78,135 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 24,445 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $12,707,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $340,895,000 after purchasing an additional 164,085 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 62.6% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,698,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $343,138,000 after purchasing an additional 653,739 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 13,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 3,700 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 59.1% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 45,378 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,380,000 after purchasing an additional 16,851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $339,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $152.12 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $170.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.37 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.59 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 24.05%.

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

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction 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 owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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.