Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Has $10.23 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 22.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 70,474 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 12,888 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $10,227,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $171.96 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $159.66 and a 200-day moving average of $162.88. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $138.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The firm's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

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 paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 22.38%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the company's 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 purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was 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 owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, B. Riley decreased their target price 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.29.

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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