Stenger Family Office LLC Purchases New Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Stenger Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,689 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,250,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,588,422,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $182,962,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1,069.9% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,079,977 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $175,637,000 after purchasing an additional 987,660 shares during the period. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $157,426,000. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE increased its position in Applied Materials by 126.6% in the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 1,600,078 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $260,221,000 after buying an additional 893,995 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.5 %

Applied Materials stock traded down $0.73 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $137.46. The stock had a trading volume of 6,485,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,643,842. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $152.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61.

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

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $210.29.

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.