Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by Summit Financial LLC

Summit Financial LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 16.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,444 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,130 shares during the quarter. Summit Financial LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $1,588,422,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 341.0% during the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,857,155 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $577,288,000 after purchasing an additional 2,209,218 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 67.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,663,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $942,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,153 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $182,962,000. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $157,426,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $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 available at this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. Susquehanna raised 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 raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday. Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. 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 report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.67.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.0 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $145.12 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.16 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $166.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.57. The firm has a market cap of $117.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

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.