Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV Raises Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 372.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,826 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 7,744 shares during the period. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,588,422,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 18,402.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,824,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,647,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,814,444 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,663,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 301.6% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,959,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $318,754,000 after buying an additional 1,471,953 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 10,767.6% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,347,580 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $219,157,000 after buying an additional 1,335,180 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT traded up $0.69 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $183.76. The stock had a trading volume of 6,569,873 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,042,402. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $164.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.32. The stock has a market cap of $147.47 billion, a PE ratio of 22.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors 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 yield of 1.00%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 22.38%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. B. Riley dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $200.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.