Retirement Guys Formula LLC Acquires 2,667 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Retirement Guys Formula LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 38.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,639 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,667 shares during the period. Retirement Guys Formula LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 3,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,061 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $173,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 3,062 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 977 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fourpath Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 0.8% in the first quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC now owns 9,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,388,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction 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 approximately $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.6%

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $2.89 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $183.07. The company had a trading volume of 5,425,035 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,003,513. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $146.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.67. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $160.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.00.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The firm's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $200.24.

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.