Arvest Investments Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Arvest Investments Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 42.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,042 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares during the quarter. Arvest Investments Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Zhang Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 51.8% in the 1st quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 13,923 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,021,000 after purchasing an additional 4,752 shares during the last quarter. Visionary Horizons LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 135.7% during the 1st quarter. Visionary Horizons LLC now owns 3,728 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $541,000 after acquiring an additional 2,146 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 10.2% in the first quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 3,539 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 56.2% in the first quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc now owns 5,104 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $741,000 after buying an additional 1,836 shares during the period. Finally, Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $230,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.5%

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $5.96 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $176.55. 6,672,964 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,987,906. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market cap of $141.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.10. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate 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 repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 22.38%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

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 stock was bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction 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 $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.