Semanteon Capital Management LP Invests $769,000 in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Semanteon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,728 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $769,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 61.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $215.38.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.9 %

Applied Materials stock traded down $2.96 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $150.68. 4,850,337 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,886,929. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $169.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.37 and a 52-week 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 firm has a market capitalization of $122.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a share 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 repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.