Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Raises Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 189,414 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,573 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $27,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $174.09 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $139.71 billion, a PE ratio of 21.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a 50-day moving average of $157.46 and a 200 day moving average of $163.18.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. B. Riley lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley raised Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $162.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the company’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 value of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. This 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 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.