Beacon Investment Advisors LLC Has $6.05 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Beacon Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 55.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,183 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 13,198 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises approximately 2.8% of Beacon Investment Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,047,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT traded up $5.28 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $143.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,988,427 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,658,015. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.51. The stock has a market cap of $116.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.86.

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.