Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) is EdgePoint Investment Group Inc.'s 7th Largest Position

EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 37.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,913,942 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,056,787 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises 5.0% of EdgePoint Investment Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. owned approximately 0.48% of Applied Materials worth $636,524,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on AMAT. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.86.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $0.31 on Friday, hitting $155.69. The stock had a trading volume of 3,884,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,758,525. The business's fifty day moving average is $147.27 and its 200 day moving average is $165.75. The company has a market cap of $126.49 billion, a PE ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. 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 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are 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.