Bell Bank Increases Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Bell Bank lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 45.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,362 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,983 shares during the period. Bell Bank’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $923,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. B. Riley cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $158.00 in a research note on Friday, June 6th. TD Cowen dropped their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.29.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $176.55 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $141.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $163.10.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan 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 plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.