Regatta Capital Group LLC Buys New Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Regatta Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,431 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired 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 fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “mixed” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays dropped their price objective 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. Mizuho reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.29.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $166.74 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $152.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $163.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. 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 $133.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.