InTrack Investment Management Inc Has $741,000 Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

InTrack Investment Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 56.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,104 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,836 shares during the quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $4.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $170.59. The stock had a trading volume of 5,292,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,974,281. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The business's 50-day moving average price is $156.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.20. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $136.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. Applied Materials's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has approved a share 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 often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought 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 owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This 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 company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Applied Materials from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $162.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday, June 6th. TD Cowen lowered their target price 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 reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price target (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, March 28th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.29.

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.