Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by Unigestion Holding SA

Unigestion Holding SA increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 84.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,789 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,838 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,856,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $3,055,000 after buying an additional 6,364 shares in the last quarter. Skye Global Management LP bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,862,000. Cable Hill Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 3,485 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,608,000 after acquiring an additional 793 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 71,577 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $11,640,000 after purchasing an additional 9,672 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $2.88 on Friday, hitting $167.07. The stock had a trading volume of 3,691,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,932,774. The stock has a market cap of $134.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.86, a P/E/G 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company's 50 day moving average price is $151.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.26.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, B. Riley decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the completion of 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 owned by company 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.