2,237 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Acquired by Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC

Posted by Defense World Staff on Apr 14th, 2023

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,237 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. S. R. Schill & Associates acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $263,000. Welch & Forbes LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 14.6% in the third quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 6,439 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares during the period. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $826,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 19.4% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,894 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Finally, Veriti Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Veriti Management LLC now owns 13,887 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,352,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.22% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $113.47 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $95.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $71.12 and a 12 month high of $125.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.28.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.66 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 55.08% and a net margin of 24.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 7.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 25th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 24th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.94%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, March 13th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. BNP Paribas lowered Applied Materials from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $133.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 6th. Cowen decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $279.00 to $271.00 in a research report on Friday, February 24th. Craig Hallum upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $126.00 to $139.00 in a research report on Friday, February 17th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, March 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Applied Materials from $118.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Friday, February 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.31.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 29,444 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.70, for a total transaction of $3,671,666.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 194,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,228,960.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 6,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total transaction of $800,118.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 98,332 shares in the company, valued at $11,548,110.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 29,444 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.70, for a total value of $3,671,666.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 194,298 shares in the company, valued at $24,228,960.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,634 shares of company stock valued at $4,512,426. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Profile

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Applied Materials, Inc provides manufacturing equipment, services and software to the semiconductor, display and related industries. It operates through the following segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display & Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment includes semiconductor capital equipment for etch, rapid thermal processing, deposition, chemical mechanical planarization, metrology and inspection, wafer packaging, and ion implantation.