1,315 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Acquired by Carbahal Olsen Financial Services Group LLC

Carbahal Olsen Financial Services Group LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,315 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $1,588,422,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $182,962,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 1,069.9% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,079,977 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $175,637,000 after acquiring an additional 987,660 shares during the period. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $157,426,000. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 126.6% in the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 1,600,078 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $260,221,000 after purchasing an additional 893,995 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s 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 directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $137.46 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.68 billion, a PE ratio of 17.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $152.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.78.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.