Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Acquires Shares of 307,269 Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 307,269 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $49,971,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Advisory Resource Group lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 24,867 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,024,000 after acquiring an additional 4,561 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 3.7% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,746 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 26.4% during the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 47,649 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $9,627,000 after purchasing an additional 9,941 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 70.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,845 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,989,000 after purchasing an additional 4,073 shares during the period. Finally, Sfmg LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% in the third quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 54,967 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $11,106,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $150.71 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $122.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.70, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.86.

About Applied Materials

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.