Unison Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Unison Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 9.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,067 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,916 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up approximately 2.6% of Unison Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Unison Asset Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,529,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 3,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,061 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 3,062 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 977 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Fourpath Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.8% in the first quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC now owns 9,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Applied Materials from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $162.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Barclays reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $200.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded up $2.89 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $183.07. 5,425,035 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,003,513. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.67. The company's 50-day moving average is $160.35 and its 200-day moving average is $163.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.