Cullen Capital Management LLC Has $3.13 Million Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Cullen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,265 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 893 shares during the quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,133,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,528,961,000 after purchasing an additional 487,358 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,260,178,000 after purchasing an additional 253,078 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,588,422,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,356,094,000 after purchasing an additional 587,036 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,655,308 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,082,353,000 after acquiring an additional 84,130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $126.95 on Friday. The stock 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. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.94 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $162.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $175.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Analysts predict 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 buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. 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 dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Susquehanna lifted their price target 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. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.67.

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.