Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC Makes New $1.90 Million Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 11,677 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,899,000. Applied Materials comprises 0.6% of Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Needham & Company LLC cut 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. Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought 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 approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $174.75 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $141.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $148.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.66. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $255.89. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Company 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.