Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC Invests $418,000 in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,878 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $418,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $1,588,422,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 18,402.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,824,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,647,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,814,444 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,663,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602,645 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 301.6% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,959,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $318,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 10,767.6% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,347,580 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $219,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335,180 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares in the company, 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. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $162.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.29.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $172.84 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $163.17. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $138.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities 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 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 buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 22.38%.

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.