Winthrop Advisory Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Winthrop Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 10.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,738 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the period. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $880,131.91. This trade 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 available at this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.48.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.7%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $155.11 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a 50-day moving average of $150.67 and a 200-day moving average of $163.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The company has a market cap of $126.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued 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 return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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