Integrated Advisors Network LLC Purchases 2,814 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 37.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,385 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,814 shares during the quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $12,528,961,000 after purchasing an additional 487,358 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,260,178,000 after buying an additional 253,078 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Applied Materials by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,663,780,000 after buying an additional 1,602,645 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $1,588,422,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,356,094,000 after acquiring an additional 587,036 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. B. Riley lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.29.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.5%

NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $4.41 on Friday, hitting $170.59. 5,292,961 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,974,274. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company's 50-day moving average price is $155.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $136.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

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

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.