Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) is Naya Capital Management UK Ltd.’s Largest Position

Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 22.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,816,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 334,956 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 31.3% of Naya Capital Management UK Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. owned 0.22% of Applied Materials worth $295,481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $167.99 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.96, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued 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 return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.86.

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.