GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Raises Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 159,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,719 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $23,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,603,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Applied Materials by 59.6% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 21,267 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,459,000 after purchasing an additional 7,938 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 220,453 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $35,852,000 after acquiring an additional 26,482 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc grew its position in Applied Materials by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 45,469 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $7,395,000 after buying an additional 1,757 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays decreased 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 report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday. Eight research 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, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $200.73.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of AMAT traded down $0.36 during trading on Monday, reaching $190.69. 2,268,580 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,072,156. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $153.03 billion, a PE ratio of 23.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.69. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.