Provident Co of the Employees of the Hebrew University LTD Takes $1.40 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Provident Co of the Employees of the Hebrew University LTD bought a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 8,610 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,399,000. Applied Materials accounts for 1.6% of Provident Co of the Employees of the Hebrew University LTD’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 17,723 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,882,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 68.6% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 219,960 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $35,772,000 after purchasing an additional 89,514 shares during the period. Gold Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 27,154 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,416,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Glenview Trust co grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 30,635 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,982,000 after purchasing an additional 3,737 shares during the period. Finally, Gallacher Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 1,702 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.8 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $155.66 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $126.46 billion, a PE ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $172.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.15. 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 12 month low of $145.37 and a 12 month 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 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. 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. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its board 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 repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.