Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Acquired by Carret Asset Management LLC

Carret Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 35,180 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,721,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 24,629 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,005,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,651,000. Blume Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc. now owns 39,989 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,503,000 after purchasing an additional 787 shares during the period. Aviso Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 157.2% during the 4th quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 4,560 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,787 shares during the period. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given 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 price target of $215.38.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $149.95 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $121.83 billion, a PE ratio of 19.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $179.64. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.37 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.