Cardiff Park Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Cardiff Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 15,305 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,489,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $1,588,422,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,663,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602,645 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 301.6% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,959,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $318,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,471,953 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $182,962,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $175,637,000 after purchasing an additional 987,660 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AMAT. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays cut their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.86.

Applied Materials Trading Up 4.1 %

AMAT opened at $155.10 on Monday. 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. The business's 50 day moving average is $147.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.77. The firm has a market cap of $126.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.