Cache Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Cache Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 17,147 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,789,000. Applied Materials accounts for about 1.0% of Cache Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the business’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 purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.48.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $157.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $127.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $150.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $164.76. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

About Applied Materials

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.