12,000 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Acquired by Ally Financial Inc.

Ally Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 12,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Field & Main Bank increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 3,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 6,998 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,388 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,601 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,375,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Mezzasalma Advisors LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 2,060 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $138.19 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $154.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $171.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $112.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued 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 return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. 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 dividend yield of 1.33%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. 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 research report on Friday, January 17th. Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.29.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.