Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. Cuts Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,648 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 141 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises about 0.5% of Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,514,814,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 3,940.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $352,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,121,912 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 126.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $464,974,000 after acquiring an additional 1,259,111 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 123.5% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,976,914 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $407,699,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092,429 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,117,176 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,012,171,000 after acquiring an additional 973,218 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Barclays raised Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT traded down $8.83 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $196.74. 7,628,042 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,766,149. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.89 billion, a PE ratio of 23.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $229.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $206.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 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.