Independent Advisor Alliance Grows Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Independent Advisor Alliance raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 30.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,583 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,689 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.38.

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Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $146.99 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average is $173.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.06. The company has a market capitalization of $119.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.37 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS 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%. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 20.92%.

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

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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