RFG Advisory LLC Increases Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

RFG Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 295.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,705 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,709 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,440,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,588,422,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 18,402.1% in the first 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 grew its stake in Applied Materials by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,663,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602,645 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 301.6% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,959,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $318,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,471,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 10,767.6% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,347,580 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $219,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335,180 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AMAT. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. B. Riley lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.48.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $2.26 during trading on Thursday, hitting $164.19. The stock had a trading volume of 7,337,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,949,034. The company has a market capitalization of $131.76 billion, a PE ratio of 21.46, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm's fifty day moving average is $151.42 and its 200 day moving average is $163.31. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month 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, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.