RiverPark Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

RiverPark Advisors LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 55.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,098 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,167 shares during the quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $992,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisory Resource Group lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 24,867 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,024,000 after purchasing an additional 4,561 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,746 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $757,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 47,649 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $9,627,000 after purchasing an additional 9,941 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 70.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,845 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,989,000 after buying an additional 4,073 shares during the period. Finally, Sfmg LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 54,967 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $11,106,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $143.58 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $150.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup cut their target price on 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 lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.86.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Materials

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.