Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 268 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $44,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.3%

AMAT opened at $159.48 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year 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. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $150.64 and its 200-day moving average is $163.92. The company has a market capitalization of $129.57 billion, a PE ratio of 20.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 22.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen cut their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “mixed” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Applied Materials from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One equities research 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.48.

About Applied Materials

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.