Professional Advisory Services Inc. Acquires New Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Professional Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 41,275 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,990,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Applied Materials from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $162.00 to $158.00 in a research note on Friday, June 6th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.29.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $0.98 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $172.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,125,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,963,432. The business has a fifty day moving average of $153.43 and a 200 day moving average of $163.15. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $255.89. 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 $138.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The firm's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.38%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 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. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.