Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Invests $44.06 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 269,993 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $44,060,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stevens Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 9.3% during the third quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 1,317 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in Applied Materials by 18.0% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 59,700 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $12,062,000 after purchasing an additional 9,100 shares during the last quarter. Whitford Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,226,000. Wahed Invest LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 20,059 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,053,000 after buying an additional 2,238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $32,266,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Down 6.3 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $126.95 on Friday. 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 cap of $103.14 billion, a PE ratio of 16.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.94 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $162.19 and its 200 day simple 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 (EPS) 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%. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by 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.