4WEALTH Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

4WEALTH Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,759 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $611,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays reduced 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 research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.86.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $148.96 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $147.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.25. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

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.

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