Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 47.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,737 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 557 shares during the quarter. Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Trek Financial LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. Trek Financial LLC now owns 2,535 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 221.1% in the fourth quarter. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD now owns 8,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 5,646 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $137,000. Titleist Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $282,000. Finally, Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. grew its position in Applied Materials by 201.5% during the fourth quarter. Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. now owns 49,384 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,031,000 after buying an additional 33,002 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.67.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $126.95 on Monday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $162.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $175.20. The company has a market cap of $103.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $121.86 and a 12 month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is a boost 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 currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership 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.