Twinbeech Capital LP Makes New $954,000 Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Twinbeech Capital LP acquired a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,868 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $954,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of 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. B. Riley dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “mixed” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.48.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of Applied Materials 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, 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 owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $162.23 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $149.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $165.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.38%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are 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.