Stablepoint Partners LLC Increases Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Stablepoint Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 23.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,249 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,551 shares during the quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,197,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 17.2% in the fourth 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 increased its stake in Applied Materials by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,603,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,303,000. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Barclays dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $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 insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.6%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $166.74 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $133.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company's 50-day moving average price is $152.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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, topping 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 business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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