Benjamin Edwards Inc. Grows Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,208 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,669 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,221,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $154.61 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $166.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.21, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Mizuho reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.86.

Applied Materials 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.