Quantinno Capital Management LP Buys 10,847 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 14.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,171 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,847 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $14,014,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $1,979,000. Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 44.3% during the 4th quarter. Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. now owns 192,191 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $31,256,000 after acquiring an additional 59,000 shares in the last quarter. Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $23,012,000. NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 311.5% during the 4th quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 12,939 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,104,000 after acquiring an additional 9,795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $5,690,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock traded down $9.18 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $165.57. The stock had a trading volume of 16,506,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,872,339. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $149.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $165.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. B. Riley lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.48.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of Applied Materials 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.