Ironvine Capital Partners LLC Buys 27,922 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Ironvine Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 710.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,854 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 27,922 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up 0.6% of Ironvine Capital Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Ironvine Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $1,588,422,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $182,962,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 1,069.9% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,079,977 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $175,637,000 after acquiring an additional 987,660 shares during the period. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $157,426,000. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 893,995 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $3.79 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $147.76. The company had a trading volume of 1,794,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,664,197. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.32. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $120.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.86.

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.