Sen. John Boozman Buys Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock

Senator John Boozman (R-Arkansas) recently bought shares of Applied Materials, Inc. NASDAQ: AMAT. In a filing disclosed on April 20th, the Senator disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Applied Materials stock on March 19th.

Senator John Boozman also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of DTE Energy NYSE: DTE on 3/19/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF NYSEARCA: IVW on 3/19/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Invesco Short Term Treasury ETF NYSEARCA: TBLL on 3/19/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Invesco Short Term Treasury ETF NYSEARCA: TBLL on 3/5/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Sprott Lithium Miners ETF NASDAQ: LITP on 2/26/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Invesco Short Term Treasury ETF NYSEARCA: TBLL on 2/26/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of First Trust Global Tactical Commodity Strategy Fund NASDAQ: FTGC on 2/26/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund NYSEARCA: EMLP on 2/26/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Motorola Solutions NYSE: MSI on 2/26/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Ecolab NYSE: ECL on 2/26/2025.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded up $1.38 during trading on Friday, hitting $151.55. 4,804,419 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,683,281. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The business's fifty day moving average is $149.54 and its 200 day moving average is $168.57. 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 fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. 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 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 value 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 $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup cut their price target on Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.86.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $12,528,961,000 after acquiring an additional 487,358 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,260,178,000 after buying an additional 253,078 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,663,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602,645 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $1,588,422,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,356,094,000 after buying an additional 587,036 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Senator Boozman

John Boozman (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. Senate from Arkansas. He assumed office on January 3, 2011. His current term ends on January 3, 2029. Boozman (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the U.S. Senate to represent Arkansas. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022. Boozman won re-election in 2016. He faced Democrat Conner Eldridge, Libertarian Frank Gilbert, and write-in candidate Jason Tate in the general election. Arkansas' U.S. Senate race was rated as safely Republican in 2016. Boozman began his political career in the U.S. House. He won a special election in 2001 and served in that position until his election to the Senate in 2010. Prior to his political career, Boozman worked as an optometrist. As of a 2014 analysis of multiple outside rankings, Boozman is an average Republican member of Congress, meaning he will vote with the Republican Party on the majority of bills. Below is an abbreviated outline of Boozman's academic, professional, and political career: 2011-Present: U.S. Senator from Arkansas 2001-2011: U.S. Representative from Arkansas 1977: Graduated from Southern College of Optometry

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.