Carr Financial Group Corp Grows Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Carr Financial Group Corp grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 279.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,807 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 6,484 shares during the quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Mizuho lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, 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. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $172.84 on Friday. 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 $138.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.67. The company's 50 day moving average price is $158.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.17. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.38%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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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