Insider Buying: Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) CEO Acquires 50,000 Shares of Stock

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock traded up $6.70 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $144.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,614,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,612,552. The stock has a market cap of $117.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. 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 $156.82 and a 200 day moving average of $172.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Remove Ads

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. 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 currently 24.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $213.14.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Persium Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $508,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 61,013 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $8,854,000 after purchasing an additional 829 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 7,708 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,119,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 56.8% during the first quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 15,821 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,296,000 after purchasing an additional 5,729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 6.3% in the first quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 12,815 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.