Alexis Investment Partners LLC Acquires New Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Alexis Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 8,951 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,461,000. Applied Materials makes up approximately 0.7% of Alexis Investment Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. One 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.86.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.7 %

AMAT traded up $5.13 on Wednesday, hitting $143.43. 3,192,470 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,630,693. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $150.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.53 billion, a PE ratio of 18.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.