Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Bought by Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 14.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,955 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,627 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $9,550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Vinva Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 46,660 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $7,635,000 after buying an additional 4,747 shares during the period. Brooklyn FI LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $656,000. Xponance Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 197,490 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $32,118,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 66.4% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 57,221 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $9,306,000 after purchasing an additional 22,842 shares during the period. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $15,356,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $164.00 target price (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $215.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $2.26 on Friday, hitting $152.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,887,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,887,441. The company has a market capitalization of $123.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.37 and a 1 year 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 fifty day moving average price of $170.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share 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 anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.