Texas Bank & Trust Co Buys Shares of 11,995 Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Texas Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 11,995 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,951,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 8,012 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,303,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,128,000. Skye Global Management LP bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $45,862,000. Shell Asset Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 45,351 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,375,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares during the period. Finally, Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,899,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $165.57 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.35. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $134.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 22.38%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was 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 $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. Jefferies Financial Group raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.48.

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.