Quantinno Capital Management LP Increases Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 14.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 86,171 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,847 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $14,014,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $174.14 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $141.48 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week 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 50 day moving average price is $148.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $165.73.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its 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 net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. 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 24.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective 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. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. One equities 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.86.

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.