Capital Advantage Inc. Purchases New Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Capital Advantage Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,478 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $403,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,118,152 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $225,923,000 after acquiring an additional 96,009 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Applied Materials by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $340,895,000 after buying an additional 164,085 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 13,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,147,000 after buying an additional 3,700 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 13,816 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,247,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bard Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 57,280 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $9,315,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna upped their price target on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.86.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business'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 directly owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $154.61 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $125.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $166.54.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors 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.

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