Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Holdings Lifted by Zhang Financial LLC

Zhang Financial LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 51.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,923 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,752 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,021,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 1.7% during the 4th 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 period. Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 1,862 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,061 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $173,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 3,062 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Applied Materials from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $162.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday, June 6th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.29.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.5%

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $4.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $170.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,292,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,974,281. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $156.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.20.

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. 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.