MML Investors Services LLC Increases Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 43.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 196,072 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 59,232 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $31,887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America cut their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.29.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $137.46 on Monday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business’s 50 day moving average is $152.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.37. The company has a market capitalization of $111.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $235,614,763.40. This trade 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 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.