Advisory Resource Group Has $4.71 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Advisory Resource Group increased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 16.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,423 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,539 shares during the period. Advisory Resource Group's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 18,785 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,055,000 after buying an additional 6,364 shares during the period. Skye Global Management LP acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $45,862,000. Cable Hill Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 3,485 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. Value Partners Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,608,000 after purchasing an additional 793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $230,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $172.84 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $157.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $138.70 billion, a PE ratio of 21.03, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. 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 (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.29.

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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