Brighton Jones LLC Buys 2,232 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 17.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,906 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,232 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,163,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 3,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 1,862 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co raised its stake in Applied Materials by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,061 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $173,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 3,062 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 977 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $170.59 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $136.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. The business has a fifty day moving average of $156.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $163.09. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “mixed” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America reduced 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 report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.29.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.