Potentia Wealth Buys Shares of 5,069 Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Potentia Wealth acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 5,069 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $824,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $154.95 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.37 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $125.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The business’s 50 day moving average is $170.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.68. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 24.05%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate 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.