Family Legacy Inc. Purchases 313 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Family Legacy Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,970 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 313 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises 1.6% of Family Legacy Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Family Legacy Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Applied Materials by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $340,895,000 after purchasing an additional 164,085 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 13,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,147,000 after buying an additional 3,700 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 59.1% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 45,378 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,380,000 after purchasing an additional 16,851 shares during the period. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $339,000. Finally, Rheos Capital Works Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 170,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $27,663,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $145.06 on Monday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $143.38 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The business’s 50 day moving average is $167.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.84. The company has a market cap of $117.85 billion, a P/E 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 earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. 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. Mizuho dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.