Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. Grows Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 69.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 12,994 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,340 shares during the period. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,113,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.86.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $151.55 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $149.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.81, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Applied Materials announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan 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 plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 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.