2,451 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Acquired by AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC

AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $399,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $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 purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $145.06 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $167.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.91. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.12 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $117.85 billion, a PE ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.67.

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.