Atala Financial Inc Takes Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 275 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $45,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. 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 report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $155.66 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.37 and a 12 month high of $255.89. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $172.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $179.36. The company has a market cap of $126.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors 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 represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.