Stevens Capital Management LP Purchases 2,970 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Stevens Capital Management LP grew its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 225.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,970 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $697,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Field & Main Bank grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 3,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 6,998 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,388 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,202,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,601 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,375,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Mezzasalma Advisors LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 2,060 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $152.12 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $170.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.89. The stock has a market cap of $123.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

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.