Westpac Banking Corp Buys 5,421 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Westpac Banking Corp grew its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,386 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,421 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $9,333,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 108.0% in the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 7,680 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,552,000 after buying an additional 3,988 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,126,000 after purchasing an additional 2,279 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 29.2% in the third quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 5,129 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 1,159 shares during the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 112.8% during the third quarter. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD now owns 2,554 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 11.0% during the third quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 10,056 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,032,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $147.75 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $120.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.07. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.16 and a 52 week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program 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 purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on AMAT. 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 note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of 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. Citigroup raised their price target on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.