Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Acquired by EdgePoint Investment Group Inc.

EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 37.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,913,942 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,056,787 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for about 5.0% of EdgePoint Investment Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $636,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,118,152 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $225,923,000 after purchasing an additional 96,009 shares in the last quarter. Park National Corp OH grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 1,355 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $220,000 after buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 392.2% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 443 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 229.6% during the 4th quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 5,497 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $894,000 after acquiring an additional 3,829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CCM Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 97,007 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,776,000 after purchasing an additional 13,272 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $156.00 on Friday. 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 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.39, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The business’s 50 day moving average is $147.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.18.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program 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 buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.