Schroder Investment Management Group Has $83.05 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Schroder Investment Management Group lessened its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 507,537 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 41,875 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $83,053,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $340,895,000 after purchasing an additional 164,085 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic increased its stake in 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 Applied Materials by 59.1% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $339,000. Finally, Rheos Capital Works Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 170,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $27,663,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $145.06 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $117.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.84. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $143.38 and a twelve month high of $255.89.

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 return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna upped their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday. 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 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.67.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by 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.