Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by RiverPark Advisors LLC

RiverPark Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 55.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,098 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 2,167 shares during the quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $992,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.9 %

Applied Materials stock traded up $1.38 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $151.55. 4,804,419 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,683,281. 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 50 day moving average price of $149.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.57. The firm has a market cap of $123.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 24.05%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Barclays decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.86.

Applied Materials Company 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.