Chatham Capital Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Chatham Capital Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 15,255 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,004 shares during the period. Chatham Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $161.93 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.31. The firm has a market cap of $129.95 billion, a PE ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors 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 purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “mixed” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.48.

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.