First Horizon Advisors Inc. Buys 871 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 36.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,262 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $473,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% during the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “mixed” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.76.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $190.86 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $163.94. The stock has a market cap of $153.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.69. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly 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 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

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.