Woodline Partners LP Makes New Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 563,607 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $91,659,000. Applied Materials makes up 0.6% of Woodline Partners LP's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Woodline Partners LP owned about 0.07% of Applied Materials as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,588,422,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,663,780,000 after buying an additional 1,602,645 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 301.6% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,959,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $318,754,000 after buying an additional 1,471,953 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position 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 buying an additional 1,335,180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $182,962,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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. TD Cowen reduced their price target 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. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. Barclays reduced their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target 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. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.48.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $165.94 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week 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. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $149.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.12.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The firm's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials 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.

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