Vivaldi Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Vivaldi Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 107,640 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $18,779,000. Applied Materials makes up approximately 2.9% of Vivaldi Capital Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Bank of America decreased their target price 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.48.

Applied Materials Trading Down 5.3%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $165.57 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $149.19 and a 200-day moving average of $165.24. The stock has a market cap of $134.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a PEG 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.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during 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%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

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

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 stock was bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value 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 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 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.