Retirement Guys Formula LLC Has $1.40 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Retirement Guys Formula LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 38.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,639 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,667 shares during the quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sava Infond d.o.o. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 19.5% in the 1st quarter. Sava Infond d.o.o. now owns 58,165 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,441,000 after buying an additional 9,500 shares in the last quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 15.6% in the first quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 19,933 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,893,000 after acquiring an additional 2,687 shares during the last quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp increased its stake in Applied Materials by 8.4% in the first quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 73,423 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,655,000 after acquiring an additional 5,669 shares during the last quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp raised its position in Applied Materials by 6.9% during the first quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp now owns 3,693 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 477.3% during the first quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 381 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “mixed” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $880,131.91. This 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 is available through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.5%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $171.96 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $159.66 and its 200-day moving average is $162.88. The firm has a market cap of $138.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan 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 plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.