Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC Makes New $998,000 Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 6,876 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $998,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 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, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America cut their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.29.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT traded up $3.98 on Tuesday, hitting $173.77. 5,709,179 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,958,128. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $139.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $152.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.07. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a share repurchase 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 purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.