Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 25.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,869 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,783 shares during the quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,013,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $1,588,422,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 18,402.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,824,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,647,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,814,444 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,663,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 301.6% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,959,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $318,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,471,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 10,767.6% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,347,580 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $219,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335,180 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Applied Materials Stock Performance
Applied Materials stock traded up $2.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $166.74. 5,678,527 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,965,711. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $152.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. The firm has a market cap of $133.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Applied Materials announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase 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 repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
Analyst Ratings Changes
AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.29.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Applied Materials
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired 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 directly 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 directly owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $880,131.91. This represents 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 owned by insiders.
About Applied Materials
(
Free Report)
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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