Brooklyn FI LLC Purchases Shares of 4,032 Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Brooklyn FI LLC purchased 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 and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,032 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $656,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,808,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $7,841,178,000 after purchasing an additional 672,548 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,826,373 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,994,968,000 after buying an additional 371,866 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,413,112 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,316,269,000 after acquiring an additional 858,122 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,861,933 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,790,554,000 after acquiring an additional 318,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,655,308 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,082,353,000 after acquiring an additional 84,130 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

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Applied Materials Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded up $2.83 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $154.95. The stock had a trading volume of 5,853,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,887,305. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.37 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $125.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The business's fifty day moving average price is $170.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued 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%. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program 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 purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business 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 of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.38.

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.