Voloridge Investment Management LLC Invests $109.69 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 674,446 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $109,685,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC owned 0.08% of Applied Materials as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Waverly Advisors LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 52.2% in the 4th quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 5,871 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $955,000 after acquiring an additional 2,013 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 417.1% in the 4th quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 825,750 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $134,292,000 after acquiring an additional 666,059 shares in the last quarter. Whelan Financial acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $286,000. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $91,659,000. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $544,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. B. Riley reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.48.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $165.94 on Tuesday. 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's fifty day simple moving average is $149.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.12. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $134.82 billion, a PE ratio of 21.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid 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 yield of 1.11%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.