2,192 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Acquired by EntryPoint Capital LLC

EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,192 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $356,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.9 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $150.68 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.37 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $169.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.34. The firm has a market cap of $122.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 24.05%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on AMAT. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

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.