Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Holdings Increased by Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD.

Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 201.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 49,384 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,002 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for about 0.6% of Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $8,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $7,318,000. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $1,409,000. Cullen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 19,265 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,133,000 after buying an additional 893 shares during the period. Finally, Oarsman Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 1,613 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of 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. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. One equities 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.67.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $126.95 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $162.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.27. The company has a market cap of $103.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.94 and a twelve month high of $255.89.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders 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 is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.