Provident Co of the Employees of the Hebrew University LTD Purchases New Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Provident Co of the Employees of the Hebrew University LTD bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,610 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,399,000. Applied Materials makes up 1.6% of Provident Co of the Employees of the Hebrew University LTD's holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 17,723 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,882,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp raised its stake in Applied Materials by 68.6% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 219,960 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $35,772,000 after buying an additional 89,514 shares during the last quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 27,154 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $4,416,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Glenview Trust co raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 30,635 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $4,982,000 after purchasing an additional 3,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gallacher Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 1,702 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT traded down $2.26 on Friday, hitting $152.12. 15,887,839 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,884,171. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $145.37 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $123.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $170.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.24.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. 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 note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.38.

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.