22,825 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Bought by Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC

Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 22,825 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,312,000. Applied Materials makes up about 5.0% of Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,588,422,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake 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 worth $2,647,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,814,444 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 301.6% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,959,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $318,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471,953 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 10,767.6% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,347,580 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $219,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335,180 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $0.69 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $183.76. 6,569,873 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,042,402. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $164.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.32. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $147.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program 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 programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 1.00%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired 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 directly owned 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America cut their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $200.76.

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.