Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Makes New Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co purchased a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 45,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,318,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Field & Main Bank lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 3,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 6,998 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,388 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,202,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,601 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,375,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mezzasalma Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 2,060 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 6.3 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $126.95 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.94 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $103.14 billion, a PE ratio of 16.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $162.19 and a 200-day moving average of $175.27.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors 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 boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AMAT. Barclays cut their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. KeyCorp upgraded 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently 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.