Clearstead Trust LLC Invests $846,000 in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 5,201 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $846,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $857,615,000 after acquiring an additional 108,827 shares during the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 3,348 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $676,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,917 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $387,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,223 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,672,000 after acquiring an additional 1,531 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balboa Wealth Partners increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 5,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,079,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $155.66 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $172.54 and a 200 day moving average of $179.36. The company has a market capitalization of $126.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $145.37 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Company 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.