Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 18.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 49,466 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,838 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 2,060 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 3,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 1,862 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co increased its stake in Applied Materials by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,061 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $173,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp increased its stake in Applied Materials by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp now owns 3,455 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 directly 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $161.74 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $129.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.14, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a 50-day moving average of $151.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $163.32. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes 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 believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. B. Riley dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.