Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,785 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 3,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,061 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $173,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 3,062 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 977 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Fourpath Capital Management LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 0.8% in the first quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC now owns 9,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.4%

AMAT stock traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $183.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,191,415 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,042,391. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $164.03 and its 200-day simple moving average 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 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89. 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.

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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors 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. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 22.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the company's 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 purchase, the chief executive officer owned 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. This represents a 9.59% 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 insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 price objective on Applied Materials and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note 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 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. 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, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $200.76.

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.