Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Acquired by HighPoint Advisor Group LLC

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,283 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 61.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.67.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $145.12 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $141.16 and a one year high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.97, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The company’s fifty day moving average is $166.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.57.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

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.