Maj Invest Holding A S Invests $126.64 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Maj Invest Holding A S bought a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 872,691 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $126,642,000. Applied Materials comprises about 4.6% of Maj Invest Holding A S’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Maj Invest Holding A S owned about 0.11% of Applied Materials at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $1,588,422,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 18,402.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,824,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,647,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,814,444 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,663,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602,645 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 301.6% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,959,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $318,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471,953 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 10,767.6% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,347,580 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $219,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335,180 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $190.86 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. The firm has a market cap of $153.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.69. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.93.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 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 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

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 reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. B. Riley lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, 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, April 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.76.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.