Hickory Asset Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Hickory Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 39.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,595 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the period. Hickory Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 17,246 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,805,000 after purchasing an additional 2,536 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,603,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $15,303,000. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $266,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.5%

AMAT stock opened at $170.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $136.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $156.02 and its 200 day moving average is $163.20. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 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 analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 22.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target 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. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, B. Riley decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.29.

Applied Materials Company 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.