Belmont Capital LLC Makes New $651,000 Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Belmont Capital LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $651,000.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 6,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $6.82 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $145.12. 3,697,073 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,632,448. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $150.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.69. The company has a market cap of $117.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication 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.