Delta Investment Management LLC Buys 2,982 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Delta Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 99.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,992 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,982 shares during the period. Delta Investment Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $165.94 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $134.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $149.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.12.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The firm's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.38%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program 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 repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. TD Cowen cut their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. 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. Barclays cut their target price 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 restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price target (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.48.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased 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 now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was 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.

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.

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