Rhumbline Advisers Acquires 21,355 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,595,811 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 21,355 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.20% of Applied Materials worth $231,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC boosted 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 worth $2,805,000 after acquiring an additional 2,536 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted 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 worth $2,603,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted 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 worth $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $15,303,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.48.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock traded up $2.82 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $164.75. 2,152,618 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,929,567. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $151.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Applied Materials's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program 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 reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.