Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Bought by Polymer Capital Management HK LTD

Polymer Capital Management HK LTD grew its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 221.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,646 shares during the quarter. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,334,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $340,895,000 after acquiring an additional 164,085 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic grew its position in Applied Materials by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 13,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 3,700 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in Applied Materials by 59.1% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 45,378 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $7,380,000 after purchasing an additional 16,851 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $339,000. Finally, Rheos Capital Works Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 170,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $27,663,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $214.67.

Applied Materials Stock Down 7.4 %

AMAT stock traded down $11.04 during trading on Thursday, hitting $138.69. 7,643,473 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,548,081. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $158.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $173.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.05%.

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.