Vivaldi Capital Management LP Acquires Shares of 107,640 Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Vivaldi Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 107,640 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $18,779,000. Applied Materials makes up 2.9% of Vivaldi Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AMAT. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.48.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT traded down $3.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $157.51. 5,730,689 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,884,488. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $150.15 and a 200-day moving average of $164.76. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $127.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.59, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business 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 predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business 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. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

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

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.