Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Sells 5,443 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 448,393 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,443 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI owned 0.06% of Applied Materials worth $72,922,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $165.94 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $134.82 billion, a PE ratio of 21.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The business has a 50 day moving average of $149.52 and a 200 day moving average of $165.12. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.48.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.