Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. Increases Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 69.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,994 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,340 shares during the period. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,113,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Field & Main Bank grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 3,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 6,998 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,388 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,601 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,375,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mezzasalma Advisors LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 2,060 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.86.

Applied Materials Trading Up 4.7 %

Applied Materials stock traded up $6.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $155.94. 3,166,040 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,700,077. 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 $126.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $147.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.25. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, analysts anticipate 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 given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 1.18%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its board 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 buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 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 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.