Norris Perne & French LLP MI Grows Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Norris Perne & French LLP MI lifted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 189,605 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up about 2.1% of Norris Perne & French LLP MI’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Norris Perne & French LLP MI’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $27,516,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $12,528,961,000 after acquiring an additional 487,358 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,260,178,000 after acquiring an additional 253,078 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,663,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,588,422,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,356,094,000 after buying an additional 587,036 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.7%

AMAT opened at $172.84 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $157.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.24. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $138.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The business 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 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given 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 (DPR) is 22.38%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped 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. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “mixed” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, B. Riley lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.