Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Acquired by Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC

Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 221.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,019 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,768 shares during the period. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Provident Co of the Employees of the Hebrew University LTD purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,399,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% in the 4th 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 boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 68.6% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 219,960 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $35,772,000 after purchasing an additional 89,514 shares in the last quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 27,154 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $4,416,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 30,635 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $4,982,000 after buying an additional 3,737 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

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Applied Materials Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of AMAT traded down $2.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $152.12. 15,887,839 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,884,171. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $145.37 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $123.59 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

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 (EPS) 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value 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. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.