Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Bought by MGO One Seven LLC

MGO One Seven LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 55.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,793 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,462 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment 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 MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.86.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.8 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $143.58 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $150.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $116.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 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.