Rodgers Brothers Inc. Has $394,000 Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Rodgers Brothers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,420 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 250 shares during the quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.0 %

AMAT opened at $145.12 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.16 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.97, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The company’s 50-day moving average is $166.39 and its 200 day moving average is $176.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price target (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.67.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company 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.