F M Investments LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

F M Investments LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 22.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,604 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the quarter. F M Investments LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $423,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Evexia Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $312,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 1,069.9% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,079,977 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $175,637,000 after purchasing an additional 987,660 shares in the last quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 3,315 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 611.5% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 824,407 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $129,477,000 after purchasing an additional 708,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 46,156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,506,000 after purchasing an additional 10,005 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. Barclays dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $213.14.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Up 4.8 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $144.94 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $117.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.95, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $156.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $172.74.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

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

Applied Materials 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.