Raiffeisen Bank International AG Takes $73.86 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 451,940 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $73,857,000. Applied Materials comprises approximately 1.1% of Raiffeisen Bank International AG’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Raiffeisen Bank International AG owned about 0.06% of Applied Materials as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $339,000. Rheos Capital Works Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 170,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $27,663,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 18,785 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,055,000 after acquiring an additional 6,364 shares during the period. Cable Hill Partners LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 3,485 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avity Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 206,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,641,000 after purchasing an additional 12,019 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $174.14 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $141.48 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.05%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on AMAT. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.86.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 currently owned by 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.