Whelan Financial Acquires New Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Whelan Financial acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,761 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $286,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $91,659,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $544,000. Vivaldi Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $18,779,000. Twinbeech Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $954,000. Finally, Triglav Skladi D.O.O. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $2,115,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. Citigroup lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.48.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $165.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $149.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.12. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $134.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders 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 1.11%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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.