Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Invests $837,000 in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 5,147 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $837,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisory Resource Group lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 24,867 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $5,024,000 after acquiring an additional 4,561 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.7% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,746 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $757,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 47,649 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $9,627,000 after purchasing an additional 9,941 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,845 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,989,000 after acquiring an additional 4,073 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sfmg LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the third quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 54,967 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $11,106,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays lowered 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 note on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $210.29.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded up $1.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $139.23. The company had a trading volume of 2,654,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,626,156. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $154.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.64. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $113.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.17, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Sell-side 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 disclosed 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 is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

About Applied Materials

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.