Perennial Advisors LLC Purchases 6,888 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Perennial Advisors LLC raised its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 45.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,886 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,888 shares during the quarter. Perennial Advisors LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 17,246 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,805,000 after acquiring an additional 2,536 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,603,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,303,000. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 3,903 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $635,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.6%

Applied Materials stock traded up $2.55 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $166.74. The stock had a trading volume of 5,678,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,965,711. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $152.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.19. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89. 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 firm has a market cap of $133.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated 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 reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction 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 approximately $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup lifted their price target 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, Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.