Polymer Capital Management US LLC Takes $559,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,440 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $559,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,588,422,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $182,962,000. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $157,426,000. Flossbach Von Storch SE grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 126.6% during the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 1,600,078 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $260,221,000 after acquiring an additional 893,995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 20,342.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 736,741 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $119,816,000 after acquiring an additional 733,137 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.67.

Applied Materials Trading Down 6.3 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $126.95 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $103.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $162.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.20. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $121.86 and a one year high of $255.89.

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, 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, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

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.