ABC Arbitrage SA Acquires New Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Key Points

• ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc., purchasing 10,818 shares valued at approximately $1,570,000 during the first quarter of the year.
• Institutional investors own 80.56% of Applied Materials, with multiple funds reporting increases in their stakes during the last quarter, including a 28.0% rise from Brighton Jones LLC.
• Analysts have varying ratings on AMAT, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and target price estimates ranging from $170.00 to $220.00.

ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 10,818 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,570,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,603,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $282,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $137,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.09.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $182.82 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $215.70. The stock has a market cap of $146.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.24, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.70. The company's 50-day moving average price is $180.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $166.71. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.

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