H&H Retirement Design & Management INC Makes New Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

H&H Retirement Design & Management INC purchased a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,968 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $338,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Field & Main Bank grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 3,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,601 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,375,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 2,060 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 3,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 1,862 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $0.24 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $161.59. The stock had a trading volume of 6,702,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,908,057. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $131.28 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $150.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $164.13. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. B. Riley decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Bank of America cut their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.48.

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.