Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Acquired by Level Four Advisory Services LLC

Level Four Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 37,996 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,452 shares during the quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,179,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,588,422,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 341.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,209,218 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 67.8% during the third 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. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $182,962,000. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $157,426,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AMAT. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $147.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.14. The stock has a market cap of $119.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $145.37 and a 1-year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its 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 return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 24.05%.

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

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.