Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD Purchases New Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD purchased a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 18,370 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,985,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $340,895,000 after purchasing an additional 164,085 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $230,158,000 after acquiring an additional 15,183 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 62.6% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,698,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $343,138,000 after acquiring an additional 653,739 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 13,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,147,000 after buying an additional 3,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 59.1% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 45,378 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,380,000 after acquiring an additional 16,851 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.38.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.0 %

AMAT stock opened at $146.99 on Wednesday. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $173.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.06. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.37 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $119.42 billion, a PE ratio of 19.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.92%.

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

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.