Topsail Wealth Management LLC Purchases Shares of 2,519 Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Topsail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,519 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $410,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisory Resource Group boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 24,867 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $5,024,000 after acquiring an additional 4,561 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.7% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,746 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $757,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 47,649 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $9,627,000 after acquiring an additional 9,941 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,845 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,989,000 after acquiring an additional 4,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sfmg LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the third quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 54,967 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $11,106,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.86.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of AMAT traded down $2.26 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $147.29. 2,067,742 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,678,733. The firm has a market cap of $119.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.25, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $148.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.82. 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, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

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

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company 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.