Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Bought by Cullen Capital Management LLC

Cullen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,265 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 893 shares during the period. Cullen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,133,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,528,961,000 after purchasing an additional 487,358 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,260,178,000 after purchasing an additional 253,078 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $1,588,422,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in Applied Materials by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,356,094,000 after buying an additional 587,036 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,655,308 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,082,353,000 after buying an additional 84,130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $126.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The firm has a market cap of $103.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.94 and a one year high of $255.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $162.19 and its 200-day moving average is $175.37.

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 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 fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback 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 purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.