Triglav Skladi D.O.O. Invests $2.12 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Triglav Skladi D.O.O. bought a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 13,007 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,115,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 756.1% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 511,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $83,120,000 after acquiring an additional 451,400 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 10,767.6% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,347,580 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $219,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335,180 shares during the period. Texas Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,951,000. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 8,012 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,303,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,128,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.48.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired 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 owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock traded down $1.71 on Thursday, reaching $160.52. 6,354,025 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,884,579. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.41 billion, a PE ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $149.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $165.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a boost 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 1.15%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.