Harvest Fund Management Increases Stake in Applied Materials

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd has increased its investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 14.9% during the fourth quarter, as revealed in its latest 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). After purchasing an additional 7,627 shares, Harvest Fund now holds 58,955 shares of this company, which specializes in manufacturing equipment for the semiconductor and display industries. The current value of these shares is approximately $9,550,000.

In addition to Harvest Fund, other institutional investors have also adjusted their stakes in Applied Materials. For instance, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, bringing its total to 2,077,107 shares valued at around $340,895,000 after acquiring an extra 164,085 shares. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake significantly by 62.6% in the third quarter, totaling 1,698,282 shares worth about $343,138,000 after adding 653,739 shares. Furthermore, Pensionfund Sabic raised its holdings by 38.9% in the fourth quarter, now owning 13,200 shares worth about $2,147,000 after purchasing 3,700 additional shares. Brookstone Capital Management similarly increased its holdings by 59.1%, holding 45,378 shares valued at $7,380,000 after acquiring an extra 16,851 shares. Lastly, Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV bought a new position in Applied Materials, valued at approximately $339,000. Overall, institutional investors collectively own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Recent Analyst Ratings for AMAT

Applied Materials has recently been evaluated by various financial analysts. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered its price target from $230.00 to $202.00 while maintaining a "buy" rating for the stock, as reported on January 10th. Barclays also reduced their target from $200.00 to $190.00 and assigned an "equal weight" rating on February 14th. Citigroup, however, raised its price target from $194.00 to $202.00 and affirmed a "buy" rating on February 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target from $220.00 to $210.00, giving it an "outperform" rating. On January 17th, KeyCorp upgraded the stock rating from "sector weight" to "overweight" with a target of $225.00. To date, one analyst rated the stock as a sell, seven rated it as hold, and sixteen recommended a buy rating. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.38.

Insider Trading Activity

In related news, Adam Sanders, the Chief Accounting Officer at Applied Materials, sold 271 shares of the company's stock on February 24th at an average price of $172.72, totaling a value of $46,807.12. Following the sale, he owns 6,479 shares, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88, which reflects a 4.01% decrease in his holdings. This transaction was properly disclosed in a filing with the SEC, where insider ownership is currently at 0.24%.

Market Performance for AMAT

As of Wednesday, AMAT opened at $153.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67, and a quick ratio of 1.96. It has a 50-day simple moving average of $171.61 and a 200-day average of $178.57. The market capitalization for Applied Materials stands at $124.72 billion, with a P/E ratio of 20.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81, and a beta of 1.62. Over the past year, the stock hit a low of $145.37 and reached a high of $255.89.

Applied Materials last reported its quarterly earnings results on February 13th, where it posted an EPS of $2.38, surpassing the consensus estimate of $2.28. The company has achieved a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Analysts forecast an average EPS of 9.38 for the current fiscal year.

Dividend Announcements

Recently, Applied Materials announced a quarterly dividend which will be paid on June 12th. Investors on record as of May 22nd will receive a dividend of $0.46 per share, an increase from the previous dividend of $0.40. This translates to an annualized dividend of $1.84, offering a yield of 1.20%. The current payout ratio stands at 24.05%.

The company's Board of Directors also initiated a stock repurchase program allowing for up to $10.00 billion in stock buybacks. This program allows the purchase of 8.2% of its outstanding shares, typically indicating that the board perceives the stock as undervalued.

Company Overview

Applied Materials, Inc. specializes in providing manufacturing equipment, services, and software to industries such as semiconductor and display production. It operates in three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment focuses on the development and manufacture of equipment used to create semiconductor chips.

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