Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $1.36 Billion Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 587,036 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 1.03% of Applied Materials worth $1,356,094,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 3,956 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $438,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 25,448 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,504,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 204.8% in the 4th quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 7,601 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after acquiring an additional 5,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz SE bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $1,897,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $145.06 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $167.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.84. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $143.38 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $117.85 billion, a PE ratio of 18.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase 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 repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other 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 directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of 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. Citigroup boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays cut their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.67.

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.