XTX Topco Ltd Sells 5,966 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

XTX Topco Ltd decreased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 60.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,960 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 5,966 shares during the quarter. XTX Topco Ltd's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the 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 directly owns 6,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.9 %

AMAT stock traded up $5.59 on Thursday, reaching $149.17. 2,465,024 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,642,020. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. 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 company has a market cap of $121.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials 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.