TrinityPoint Wealth LLC Raises Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

TrinityPoint Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,012 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 364 shares during the period. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $165.57 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.35. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $134.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. On average, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 22.38%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.48.

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.