TFR Capital LLC. Makes New $403,000 Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

TFR Capital LLC. purchased a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,479 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $403,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 17,246 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,805,000 after purchasing an additional 2,536 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,603,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 5,996 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $975,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 8,048 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,309,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was 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 directly owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. B. Riley cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays lowered their price target 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.48.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock 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 6,949,869. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $150.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.92. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71.

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

Applied Materials announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program 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 repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

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.