MGO One Seven LLC Buys 8,462 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

MGO One Seven LLC increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 55.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,793 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 8,462 shares during the quarter. MGO One Seven LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Advisory Resource Group lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 22.5% during the third quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 24,867 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $5,024,000 after purchasing an additional 4,561 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,746 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $757,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co boosted its position in Applied Materials by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 47,649 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $9,627,000 after acquiring an additional 9,941 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,845 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,989,000 after purchasing an additional 4,073 shares during the period. Finally, Sfmg LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% in the third quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 54,967 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $11,106,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought 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 approximately $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value 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. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Barclays dropped 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 research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.86.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $0.69 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $150.10. 1,990,590 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,666,470. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The company's 50-day moving average price is $149.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.94. 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 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued 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 dividend yield of 1.23%. Applied Materials's payout ratio 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.