Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Bought by Two Sigma Advisers LP

Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 756.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 511,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 451,400 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $83,120,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 10,767.6% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,347,580 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $219,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335,180 shares during the period. Texas Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $1,951,000. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 8,012 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,303,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the period. Strategic Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $3,128,000. Finally, Skye Global Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $45,862,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.48.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $165.57 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. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $149.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.24.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Applied Materials 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.