Perennial Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 14,998 Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Perennial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 14,998 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,439,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 17,246 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,805,000 after purchasing an additional 2,536 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised 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 worth $2,603,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 45.2% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 183,841 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $29,898,000 after buying an additional 57,263 shares during the period. Red Door Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $262,000. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $271,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was 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 directly owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. B. Riley reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Barclays lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Raymond James reiterated 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.48.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.3%

Applied Materials stock traded down $2.11 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $159.48. The stock had a trading volume of 6,841,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,907,791. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $150.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $164.12. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $255.89.

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 (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

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.