3,343 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Purchased by iSAM Funds UK Ltd

iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,343 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $544,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rheos Capital Works Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 170,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $27,663,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 18,785 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,055,000 after acquiring an additional 6,364 shares in the last quarter. Skye Global Management LP acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,862,000. Cable Hill Partners LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 3,485 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional raised its position in Applied Materials by 49.9% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 31,404 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $5,107,000 after purchasing an additional 10,459 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Susquehanna increased 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Barclays reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.48.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $165.94 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day moving average is $149.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.12. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $134.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.69, 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.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business 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. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.38%.

About Applied Materials

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.