Bell Bank Buys 1,983 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Bell Bank increased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 45.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,362 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,983 shares during the quarter. Bell Bank's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 18,785 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,055,000 after purchasing an additional 6,364 shares during the last quarter. Skye Global Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $45,862,000. Cable Hill Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 3,485 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $567,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $230,000. Finally, Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,608,000 after buying an additional 793 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This trade 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.29.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $176.55 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. 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 company has a market cap of $141.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.08, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $156.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.10.

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

Applied Materials declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.46 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

About Applied Materials

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.

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