Corton Capital Inc. Acquires New Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Corton Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,212 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $522,000. Applied Materials accounts for 0.3% of Corton Capital Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 9.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,118,152 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $225,923,000 after acquiring an additional 96,009 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $340,895,000 after purchasing an additional 164,085 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 13,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 3,700 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 13,816 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,247,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. Finally, Bard Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 57,280 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $9,315,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $154.61 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $147.24 and a 200-day moving average of $166.54. The stock has a market cap of $125.61 billion, a PE ratio of 20.21, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. KeyCorp upgraded 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. 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 report on Friday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.86.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company 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.