Diversified Enterprises LLC Buys 74 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Diversified Enterprises LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,132 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Diversified Enterprises LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 706,729 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $114,935,000 after acquiring an additional 18,760 shares during the last quarter. M & L Capital Management Ltd bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,106,000. Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $846,000. Copperwynd Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $728,000. Finally, Hills Bank & Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,061 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $173,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.8 %

AMAT stock opened at $155.66 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. 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 1-year low of $145.37 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $172.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $179.24.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is 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.