Benjamin Edwards Inc. Purchases 1,669 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 38,208 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,669 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were 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 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. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $154.61 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $147.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.86.

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.

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