GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. Takes $3.17 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 19,506 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,172,000. Applied Materials makes up 1.3% of GKV Capital Management Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on AMAT. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Down 5.0 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $138.19 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The business’s fifty day moving average is $154.51 and its 200-day moving average is $171.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.