Corton Capital Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Corton Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,212 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $522,000. Applied Materials accounts for 0.3% of Corton Capital Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Applied Materials by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $340,895,000 after purchasing an additional 164,085 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 3,700 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 59.1% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 45,378 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $7,380,000 after buying an additional 16,851 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $339,000. Finally, Rheos Capital Works Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 170,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $27,663,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company's stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. 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. 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 note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.86.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $0.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $155.69. 3,884,203 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,745,503. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.49 billion, a PE ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company's 50 day moving average is $147.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.99.

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

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.