Neo Ivy Capital Management Purchases Shares of 13,950 Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 13,950 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,268,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 18,498 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,008,000 after buying an additional 3,776 shares during the period. JT Stratford LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 11,777 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC now owns 45,400 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $7,383,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in Applied Materials by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 157,864 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $25,673,000 after purchasing an additional 19,707 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 5,968 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded up $0.79 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $162.62. 2,008,114 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,883,993. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $164.13. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $132.12 billion, a PE ratio of 21.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program 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 buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost 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 owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. B. Riley dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays dropped 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. Finally, Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.48.

Applied Materials 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.