D1 Capital Partners L.P. Takes Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

D1 Capital Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 181,283 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $29,482,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.8 %

AMAT stock opened at $143.58 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $150.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 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 completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.