Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP Invests $5.69 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 34,990 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,690,000. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 1.0% of Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Bank of America lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Applied Materials from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.48.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought 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 owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Down 5.3%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $9.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $165.57. 16,506,320 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,876,977. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.66. The stock has a market cap of $134.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.64, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $255.89.

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, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS 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 issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is an increase 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 24.05%.

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

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.