Merit Financial Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,224 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,102 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $46,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $161.93 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $129.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.17, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $151.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.31.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target (down 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. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.48.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials 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 $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased 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 $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.