Oarsman Capital Inc. Buys 169 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Oarsman Capital Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,613 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Oarsman Capital Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $126.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $162.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.27. The firm has a market cap of $103.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.94 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

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

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program 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 programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 24.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.67.

Applied Materials 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.