Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC Takes Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,677 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. Mizuho cut their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Barclays lowered their target price on 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, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.48.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.7%

Applied Materials stock traded down $4.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $155.11. The stock had a trading volume of 15,237,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,961,421. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.02 billion, a PE ratio of 20.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. 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 fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $150.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.70.

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 for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of Applied Materials 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This 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.

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.