Raub Brock Capital Management LP Invests $13.92 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Raub Brock Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 95,934 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,922,000. Applied Materials makes up 3.1% of Raub Brock Capital Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “mixed” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $162.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.29.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.5%

Applied Materials stock opened at $170.59 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $156.02 and a 200-day moving average of $163.20. 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 current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The company has a market cap of $136.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.38%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

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

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.