Headlands Technologies LLC Buys Shares of 13,959 Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 13,959 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,270,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 60.2% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 36,539 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,390,000 after buying an additional 13,735 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 128.4% in the third quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 12,684 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,563,000 after purchasing an additional 7,131 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 108.0% during the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 7,680 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,552,000 after purchasing an additional 3,988 shares during the last quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC now owns 28,461 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,750,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 67.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,663,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $942,187,000 after buying an additional 1,884,153 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $145.66 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $118.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.04, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.16 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $165.45 and a 200-day moving average of $176.27.

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

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.67.

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.