WINTON GROUP Ltd Buys 5,474 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 252.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,640 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,474 shares during the quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $319,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 4,208 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $850,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 61,905 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,508,000 after buying an additional 16,137 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at $792,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.7% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 1,006,353 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $203,334,000 after buying an additional 7,331 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. 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 report on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One equities research 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 MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $147.68 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $168.27 and a 200-day moving average of $177.14. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $119.98 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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 Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.