Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC Acquires New Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,994 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $487,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 17,246 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,805,000 after buying an additional 2,536 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,603,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 45.2% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 183,841 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $29,898,000 after buying an additional 57,263 shares during the period. True North Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Finally, Red Door Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $262,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Mizuho cut their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Applied Materials from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. 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 report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.48.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.1%

Applied Materials stock traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $161.59. The stock had a trading volume of 6,702,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,902,391. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $131.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $150.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $164.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business 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 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 22.38%.

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.