Cardinal Capital Management Inc. Has $29.94 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Cardinal Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 38.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 206,289 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 57,495 shares during the quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $29,937,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $4.41 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $170.59. 5,292,961 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,974,274. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $155.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market cap of $136.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Applied Materials from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.29.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials 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 acquired at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.