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

Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 14.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,171 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,847 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $14,014,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Bank of America cut their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.86.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $174.14 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $141.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a 50 day moving average of $148.32 and a 200 day moving average of $165.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 24.05%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.