Verde Capital Management Raises Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Verde Capital Management boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 91.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,796 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,767 shares during the period. Verde Capital Management’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $841,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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, March 28th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.48.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of AMAT opened at $155.11 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $126.02 billion, a PE ratio of 20.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $163.70. 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 issued 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 business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase 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 repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 22.38%.

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.