Blue Trust Inc. Increases Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 12.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 695 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 3,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,061 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $173,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 3,062 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 977 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Fourpath Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC now owns 9,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,388,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $169.46 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.62, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $162.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Friday, June 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought 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 owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This represents 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 owned by company insiders.

About Applied Materials

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.