Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Grows Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 150,438 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,412 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $24,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. J. Stern & Co. LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $455,000. RiverPark Advisors LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 55.1% during the 4th quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC now owns 6,098 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $992,000 after purchasing an additional 2,167 shares during the period. D1 Capital Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $29,482,000. Analog Century Management LP raised its position in Applied Materials by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Analog Century Management LP now owns 364,803 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $59,328,000 after purchasing an additional 52,258 shares during the period. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 825,326 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $134,223,000 after purchasing an additional 44,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.86.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.8 %

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $143.58 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $116.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. 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 $123.74 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The business has a fifty day moving average of $150.33 and a 200-day moving average of $169.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current 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 given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has approved 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.