OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Sells 46,139 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp decreased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 48.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 49,744 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 46,139 shares during the quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $8,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $173.03 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.62, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $147.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.68.

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

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.86.

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.