RiverPark Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

RiverPark Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 55.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,098 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,167 shares during the quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $992,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $12,528,961,000 after buying an additional 487,358 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,260,178,000 after buying an additional 253,078 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,588,422,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,356,094,000 after buying an additional 587,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,655,308 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,082,353,000 after buying an additional 84,130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $1.45 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $149.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,136,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,667,264. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $149.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. The company has a market cap of $121.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 24.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.86.

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.