Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC Has $1.26 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,664 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 616 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 18,785 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,055,000 after buying an additional 6,364 shares during the period. Skye Global Management LP acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,862,000. Cable Hill Partners LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 3,485 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $567,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $230,000. Finally, Value Partners Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,608,000 after buying an additional 793 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday, June 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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 note on Friday, March 28th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.5%

AMAT stock opened at $176.55 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $156.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.10. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $141.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.38%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan 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 plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.