7,669 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Acquired by Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.

Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 7,669 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,113,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 17,246 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,805,000 after acquiring an additional 2,536 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,603,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $15,303,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $991,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Citigroup lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.29.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $174.09 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.18, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.67. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $157.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.18.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. Applied Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 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 buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

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.

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