PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co Purchases Shares of 42,000 Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co bought a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 42,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,830,000. Applied Materials comprises approximately 0.9% of PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 17,246 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,805,000 after purchasing an additional 2,536 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,603,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 28.0% in the fourth 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. PFG Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 9,801 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,594,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 31.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 18,006 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,928,000 after acquiring an additional 4,267 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT traded down $4.37 during trading on Friday, reaching $155.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,237,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,934,957. The company's fifty day moving average price is $150.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.41. The company has a market capitalization of $126.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials 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 approximately $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, B. Riley lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.48.

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.