Dark Forest Capital Management LP Lowers Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP cut its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,507 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 276 shares during the quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,588,422,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $182,962,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1,069.9% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,079,977 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $175,637,000 after purchasing an additional 987,660 shares during the last quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $157,426,000. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE grew its position in Applied Materials by 126.6% during the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 1,600,078 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $260,221,000 after purchasing an additional 893,995 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $151.55 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The business’s 50 day moving average is $149.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.32. The company has a market capitalization of $123.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.