Captrust Financial Advisors Acquires 7,949 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 14.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 63,640 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 7,949 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors' holdings in Applied Materials were worth $10,350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.86.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $5.24 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $173.23. 3,326,243 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,765,787. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $147.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. The company has a market cap of $140.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.05%.

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

About Applied Materials

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.