Aviso Financial Inc. Has $742,000 Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Aviso Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 157.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,560 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,787 shares during the period. Aviso Financial Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 61.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $155.66 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $172.54 and its 200 day moving average is $179.36. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.37 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership 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 $0.46 dividend. 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 a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Mizuho cut their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

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.