Trexquant Investment LP Buys 199,778 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Trexquant Investment LP raised its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1,639.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 211,960 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 199,778 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises approximately 0.4% of Trexquant Investment LP’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Trexquant Investment LP’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $34,471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 61.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.67.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $145.12 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $117.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $141.16 and a 12-month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its 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, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 24.05%.

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.