Diligent Investors LLC Has $2.22 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Diligent Investors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,650 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 104 shares during the quarter. Diligent Investors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Field & Main Bank raised its stake in Applied Materials by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 3,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Bank of New Hampshire increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 6,998 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,388 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,601 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,375,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mezzasalma Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 2,060 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AMAT. Bank of America reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays reduced their target price 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.86.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $153.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $166.45. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $124.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.