Hosking Partners LLP Increases Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Hosking Partners LLP raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 17.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 77,950 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,385 shares during the quarter. Hosking Partners LLP’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $12,677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 61.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Susquehanna raised their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Trading Down 7.0 %

AMAT opened at $156.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.48, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $175.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $183.27. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $156.38 and a 12 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 (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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.92%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.