Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 443,840 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,746 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned approximately 0.05% of Applied Materials worth $64,410,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 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 purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $162.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday, June 6th. B. Riley dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.29.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock opened at $172.79 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $154.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $163.21. 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 $138.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67. 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) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

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.