Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC Takes $487,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,994 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $487,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,588,422,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Applied Materials by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,663,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 301.6% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,959,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $318,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,471,953 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in Applied Materials by 10,767.6% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,347,580 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $219,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $182,962,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.48.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $157.51 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a fifty day moving average of $150.15 and a 200-day moving average of $164.76. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 22.38%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.