South Plains Financial Inc. Makes New $786,000 Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

South Plains Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,831 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $786,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $49,971,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $12,302,000. Eagle Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 32.8% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 1,959 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its stake in Applied Materials by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 6,356 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,034,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $3,417,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.9 %

AMAT stock traded down $1.40 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $153.22. 1,478,153 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,704,446. The stock's fifty day moving average is $147.24 and its 200-day moving average is $166.54. The company has a market cap of $124.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC lowered 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. Bank of America cut their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.86.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.