Gold Investment Management Ltd. Has $4.42 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Gold Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 27,154 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises about 1.9% of Gold Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Gold Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $340,895,000 after purchasing an additional 164,085 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,698,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $343,138,000 after buying an additional 653,739 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 13,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,147,000 after buying an additional 3,700 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 59.1% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 45,378 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,380,000 after buying an additional 16,851 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $339,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $155.66 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.15. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.37 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $126.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase 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 reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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.