Cozad Asset Management Inc. Purchases 285 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 285 shares during the quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $857,615,000 after purchasing an additional 108,827 shares during the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA now owns 10,191 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,059,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Caprock Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 19,290 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,898,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 29.6% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 18,472 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,734,000 after purchasing an additional 4,215 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.3 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $153.51 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.37 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $171.61 and its 200 day moving average is $178.57. The company has a market capitalization of $124.72 billion, a PE ratio of 20.07, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has approved 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 reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management 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. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 24.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price 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 cut their target price 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, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

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.