Topsail Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 2,519 Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Topsail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,519 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $410,000.

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

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $1.38 on Friday, hitting $151.55. 4,804,419 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,683,281. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.13 billion, a PE ratio of 19.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $149.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $168.32. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.86.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $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 available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials 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.