First Manhattan CO. LLC. Has $467.43 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. grew its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,863,881 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 252,173 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up approximately 1.4% of First Manhattan CO. LLC.'s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. First Manhattan CO. LLC. owned 0.35% of Applied Materials worth $467,429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 59.1% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 45,378 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $7,380,000 after purchasing an additional 16,851 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $339,000. Rheos Capital Works Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $27,663,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 178,748 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $29,070,000 after acquiring an additional 10,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Talbot Financial LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 117,361 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $19,086,000 after buying an additional 5,124 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.86.

Applied Materials Stock Up 8.0%

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $12.38 during trading on Monday, reaching $167.99. The stock had a trading volume of 11,716,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,778,381. The company has a market capitalization of $136.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $147.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $165.75. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 24.05%.

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.