2,949 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Acquired by Impact Capital Partners LLC

Impact Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,949 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $480,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 2,209,218 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,884,153 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $182,962,000. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $157,426,000. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 126.6% during the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 1,600,078 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $260,221,000 after buying an additional 893,995 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.6 %

AMAT stock opened at $149.95 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $172.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.64. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.37 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $121.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 target price (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Applied Materials

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.