Kaizen Financial Strategies Decreases Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Kaizen Financial Strategies lowered its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,353 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 98 shares during the period. Kaizen Financial Strategies’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $487,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.48.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $155.11 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $150.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated 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 stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.38%.

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.