Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC Has $501,000 Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,455 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 285 shares during the quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AMAT. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a 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. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Bank of America lowered 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 report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.29.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $172.84 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $138.70 billion, a PE ratio of 21.03, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $157.92 and a 200-day moving average of $163.24. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders 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 1.06%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 22.38%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought 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 owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 currently owned by corporate 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.