JGP Wealth Management LLC Buys 95 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

JGP Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,916 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. JGP Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $423,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was 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 approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents 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 Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of AMAT opened at $155.11 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $150.67 and a 200-day moving average of $163.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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 of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AMAT. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “mixed” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.48.

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.