Two Sigma Investments LP Grows Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 10,767.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,347,580 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 1,335,180 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP owned approximately 0.17% of Applied Materials worth $219,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rheos Capital Works Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 170,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $27,663,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 18,785 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,055,000 after purchasing an additional 6,364 shares in the last quarter. Skye Global Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $45,862,000. Cable Hill Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 3,485 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 49.9% during the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 31,404 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $5,107,000 after purchasing an additional 10,459 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. TD Cowen cut their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.48.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $165.57 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $134.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $149.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $165.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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 paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 22.38%.

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.

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